


What If I Told You - Our Love Won't Last Forever

by Whiskeybusiness



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Everyone is funny in this fic, F/F, Summer Camp, Summer Camp AU, Summer Fling, the obligatory "hey its summer lets hook up and try not to fall in love oops we fell in love" fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-08-16
Packaged: 2018-09-24 09:49:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 27,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9716024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whiskeybusiness/pseuds/Whiskeybusiness
Summary: Christen gets roped into being a soccer coach at a summer camp with her two best friends. She's fine with it for two reasons. 1. After the summer, she has to hang up her boots and get a "real job" according to her parents, so one last summer filled with soccer is exactly what she needs. And, 2. There's a fellow coach named Tobin Heath who just might end up being the perfect distraction for Christen.





	1. Welcome to Camp, Part One

"We're here!" Kelley yelled from the passenger seat as Christen pulled the car into an empty parking space in the gravel parking lot. Julie practically squealed from the backseat. Neither girl even waited for Christen to put the car in park before they were clambering out the doors. 

"So impatient," Christen mumbled to herself as she shut the car off and got out at a leisurely pace. Kelley and Julie were already grabbing all of their bags out of the back. "We're going to be here for two months," Christen stated as she locked her door and placed the keys in her pocket. "I don't understand what the rush is." 

"You've never been here before, CP. Of course you don't get it." Julie said as she pulled her backpack on and grabbed her duffel bag. "We're just excited to see our friends and get the summer started." 

"Yeah, once you meet the girls then you'll understand why we're so stoked!" Kelley pulled her own backpack on and picked up her two other bags and started walking backward, only stumbling slightly. "Last one to the check-in table is a rotten egg!" She yelled as she turned and bolted in the opposite direction. Julie huffed and took off after her. 

"My bag is bigger than yours, this isn't fair!" Christen heard Julie yell after the freckled girl as they both laughed and raced towards the table that Christen saw in the distance. 

Christen took a look around and groaned to herself. Why had she ever thought it would be a good idea to spend her entire summer at a summer camp? Well, she actually knew why. She had just graduated from college, so spending the summer at this camp coaching soccer would be her last chance to play for a while. She knew that as soon as this summer was over, she'd have to give up her dream of being a soccer superstar and really start focusing on getting a "real job", as her parents would say. 

Not to mention, Kelley and Julie had been coming to this camp every summer for years and they loved it. It was all Christen ever heard about during the first few weeks of each fall semester. She was excited to spend the summer here and to meet all of Kelley and Julie's camp friends. She was just dreading hanging up her boots for good at the end of the summer. 

"Come on, CP!" Christen grinned and rolled her eyes, making her way across the parking lot to the table where Kelley was beckoning her over. She quickly approached, watching Kelley and Julie speak to a blonde woman who had her long hair braided and flipped over her shoulder. 

"Hey, you must be Christen!' The blonde woman greeted cheerfully, reaching out to quickly shake Christen's hand. "I'm Becky, I'm in charge of the girl's soccer camp." Christen nodded in understanding. 

"Yeah, Kelley and JJ have told me a lot about you." She said and Becky laughed. 

"Only good things, I hope!" Becky responded, raising an eyebrow at Kelley who just shrugged. 

"I mean there's probably not even anything negative we could say about you, Becks..." Kelley and Julie both chuckled as Becky just rolled her eyes. 

"Yeah, there better not be." Becky turned her attention back to Christen. "I'm sure one of these angels would be more than happy to give you a tour of the grounds, but if you need anything else please feel free to let me know!" 

"Of course, thank you Becky." Christen smiled gently until she felt herself being tugged away from the table by both Kelley and Julie. 

"Okay, so we're in this first cabin this summer." Julie informed Christen, nodding to a cabin that was about 50 yards down the path. "And Becky said that half of the other girls in our cabin haven't shown up yet, so we get to choose which room we want AND which beds we want."

"Is that a big deal?" Christen asked as she adjusted the backpack straps on her shoulders. 

"Well, yeah. They don't assign rooms here so if we were late then there would have been a chance that the three of us didn't get a room together. But we're good," Julie explained as the three girls reached the cabin.

Christen took a second to herself as Julie and Kelley both sprinted through the door. Christen slowly walked in and took a look around. She was immediately amazed. On the outside, the building looked like any old cabin from any typical teen movie about summer camp. On the inside, however, it was a different story. The front door opened into a spacious great room that included a very modern kitchen, a large dining area, and a huge living area complete with multiple couches, a flat screen TV mounted to the wall, and a fireplace. The right side of the great room was made up completely of glass windows and doors and overlooked a porch with rocking chairs and hammocks, and had a great view of the lake that was about 20 yards away. To the left, there was a set of stairs leading up to a large loft and she could already see a ping pong table and pool table from where she stood. Underneath the stairs, there was a hallway leading to what she could only assume would be the bedrooms and bathrooms. She had only taken a quick glance around but Christen already decided that the summer wouldn't be quite as terrible as she had expected. 

"CP! You take way too long, Jules and I already called dibs on the single beds. You're stuck on the bunk bed with -" Kelley was cut off by a blonde running and leap frogging over her shoulders, landing awkwardly and almost falling straight to the ground. "...with Sonnett." Kelley finished her sentence, rubbing her shoulders. The blonde girl turned to Christen, grinning wildly. 

"Bunk buddies!" The girl announced excitedly, holding her hand up for a high five. Christen laughed and returned the high five. 

"I take it you're Sonnett?" Christen asked as she picked up her bags and began making her way towards the bedroom in the back. 

"Yep, Emily Sonnet. But you might know me better as Kelley's Lover," the girl said, throwing a quick wink over her shoulder at Kelley who just rolled her eyes. 

"You wish Sonny," the two girls laughed. Christen made her way down the hallway and saw two doors on the left of the hallway, two doors on the right, and a door at the end of the hallway that led outside. Only one door was open though, the first door on the right. Christen peered inside and saw Julie unpacking a few of her things and placing them in the drawers underneath her single bed. She looked up when she heard the other three girls making their way into room. 

"Sorry, CP. I campaigned pretty hard to get you the other single bed, but Kelley is more stubborn than she looks." 

"And she looks pretty damn stubborn!" Sonnett laughed as she quickly moved past Kelley, ruffling through her hair as she passed. The blonde just made it out of swinging distance as Kelley tried to slap her hand away. 

"Fuck off. I'm not that stubborn. All I was saying is that I've been coming here for years and I ALWAYS get stuck with the bottom bunk. It's my last year, I deserve a single," Kelley shared her point of view. 

"Don't act like you didn't enjoy being my bottom," Sonnett joked from her new seat on the top bunk. Christen and Julie laughed at the joke but Kelley just rolled her eyes once again. 

"So do you guys want to procrastinate unpacking and just head over to the mess hall?" Julie asked, quickly shoving a couple more articles of clothing into a drawer then standing up. 

"Yep. I'll kick all your asses at horseshoe," Kelley claimed, throwing her bags onto her bed as if she thought someone would take it from her while she was gone. 

"I'd like to see you try, O'Hara," Sonnett said then quickly jumped down from her perch, once again landing awkwardly. "God, I stick the landing every time. Should've been a gymnast." 

"I think I'm going to go for a walk. I need to call my parents and let them know we got here safe and I want to familiarize myself with the area," Christen responded as she pulled her phone out of her pocket, seeing that she did actually have service out here in the middle of nowhere. 

"Do you want me to come with you? I can give you a tour of the place," Julie questioned but Christen shook her head. 

"No, you guys go play horseshoes. I need some time to just relax," Christen answered. The girls parted ways outside of the cabin with Julie, Kelley, and Sonnett all walking to the left towards the mess hall. 

Christen took a deep breath and took in her surroundings. Right next to their cabin was another cabin. The two cabins were only separated by a small clearing with a fire pit in the middle and both cabins seem to be set up the exact same way. Past both cabins, Christen saw where the woods started and there were three open trails. One seemed to lead right next to the lake, another led uphill towards the larger camp, and Christen wasn't sure where the third trail led. That is, until she saw a stadium light in the distance through the trees. The pitch. 

Without a moment's hesitation, Christen took off down the third trail. She reached the end of the trail after just a couple minutes and all of a sudden she stood before the pitch of her dreams. It was kept up perfectly, with lush green grass covering every inch. There were a few rows of bleachers along the far side of the pitch, along with a few benches right next to where Christen was standing that were for the teams. Christen slowly made her way to the center circle where she sat down, staring at the goal. 

Christen felt herself getting emotional thinking about things to come. She wanted to enjoy this summer, enjoy the final time she'd be able to just have fun playing soccer. But she couldn't get rid of the thought of hanging up her boots and joining the family business. She needed to find a distraction so she could just enjoy the summer without worrying about anything else. 

"You okay?" Christen jerked her head to the right to see a girl with light chestnut hair hidden underneath a hat that she wore backwards. She had a bag of soccer balls slung over her shoulder. Her Nike tank top contrasted a bit with her Under Armour joggers and Adidas sneakers, but Christen found herself forgetting about the brand clashing immediately. The girl had the warmest smile on her face, it was one of the most welcoming things she had ever seen. "Yo, you good?" The girl spoke again and Christen realized she had never responded to her first question. 

"Um, yeah. I just...I missed the pitch." Christen answered then immediately berated herself in her head for such a strange question. Then the sound of laughter filled her ears as she noticed the girl had thought her response was funny. 

"I completely understand." The girl finished laughing then put the bag down on the ground, quickly removing a ball and kicking it towards the center circle. "Here. Just take it back to the cabin with you when you leave." Christen watched as the ball landed and rolled to a stop almost directly in front of her. When she looked up, the girl had already refastened the bag, slung it back over her shoulder, and was making her way to the building next to the pitch that looked like an equipment locker. 

"Anddd, I'm officially distracted." Christen mumbled to herself as she watched the girl enter the building. "Great."


	2. Welcome To Camp Part Two

"Hey, where have you been?" Julie asked when Christen finally made her way back to the mess hall after a couple hours of being on the pitch. "And are you sweating?" 

"I found the pitch. And a soccer ball." Christen shrugged and grabbed one of the water bottles off the table filled with different beverages. 

"Makes sense." Julie laughed a little and grabbed a water bottle herself. "So most of the other girls are here now. Do you want to meet some people?" Christen nodded as she chugged most of her water in one go. 

"Cool, follow me." 

Christen followed Julie around the grounds as she introduced her to several different girls. There was an attractive girl with short hair and tattoos, and her girlfriend. Ali and Ashlyn. They were staying in the other cabin. Then there was Lindsey and Morgan, though everyone seemed to call the latter Moe. They were both in Christen's cabin in the other bedroom. There was a girl with long thick hair pulled back in a ponytail, Alyssa. She was rooming with Ali and Ashlyn in the other cabin. Then there was a group of four girls. The two girls with short hair were rooming with Lindsey and Morgan, they were introduced as Kling and Pinoe. The other two girls were in the other cabin, Crystal was with Alyssa, Ali, and Ashlyn. Then Sydney was in the other room. 

"And that just leaves the Pro's." Julie mentioned as Kelley and Sonnett approached. 

"Who are the pro's?" Christen questioned and watched as all three girls around her rolled their eyes in unison. 

"Allie, Alex, and Tobin. All three of them have been at this camp since they were kids. They were all campers and now they've all been coaches for the last thousand years basically." Kelley explained and Julie nodded her head. 

"And they all have played professionally or semi professionally for years." Sonnett added. 

"So they've been here longer than everyone, and they're more talented than everyone, and it just gives them a God Complex basically. They think they're untouchable and they can do or say whatever they want to whoever they want with no repercussions." Kelley explained further with Sonnett nodding behind her the whole time. 

"Becky has been trying to crack down on them the last couple years since she's been running things, but they know more about the camp than she does so it's difficult. They're just the worst." Julie finished up with another eye roll. 

"Speak of the devils." Sonnett nodded to her left and the group turned to see three girls walking towards the mess hall. "Oh, did we mention that they're all fucking gorgeous as well?" Sonnett mumbled but Christen couldn’t take her eyes off the girl in the middle. It was the same girl from the pitch earlier. She had a ball that she was dribbling and sneakily nutmegging the other two girls as they walked and laughed with each other. Christen felt herself smiling a little bit as she watched the scene. 

"Um, which one is which?" She wondered aloud, trying to sneakily figure out the girls name. 

"Allie is the blonde on the left, Alex is the one on the right with her hair pulled up, and Tobin is the one in the middle with the ball. She always has a fucking ball." Kelley replied. She was practically glaring at the girls. 

Christen turned back to look at Tobin and noticed that the girl with the ball had already looked up and they were now making eye contact. Tobin smiled warmly and gave Christen a quick wave before she rainbow'd the ball over Alex and Allie and took off at a jog into the mess hall. The other two girls laughed and quickly followed her in. 

"What was that?" Christen heard Kelley ask. She turned to see all three of her friends giving her incredulous looks. 

"What?" Christen responded sheepishly. 

"Tobin just waved at you. Do you know her?" Julie asked. 

"No. I mean kind of? I don't know. I saw her at the pitch earlier, she gave me a ball. That's all." Christen answered and Kelley fake laughed. 

"Of course she gave you a ball! She always has a fucking ball." Kelley muttered. 

"What's so wrong about always having a ball?" Christen inquired. 

"Nothing would be wrong with it if she wasn't so cocky about it." Sonnett answered. 

"Yeah, she's always nutmegging people and doing her stupid little skills that she thinks none of us can do." Kelley added. 

"Okay, but we can't do most of those..." Julie offered but Kelley held up a hand to shush her. 

"I don't care. She's still cocky and it's still annoying." Kelley responded and Julie and Sonnett both nodded in agreement. 

"Alright, ladies! Everyone come inside and grab a seat. It's time for orientation and job assignments." Christen looked over to see Becky motioning for everyone to walk inside. Christen and her group of friends quickly made their way in and found their seats at a table near the door. She looked around and saw that most people were sitting in groups with their roommates. She wasn't sure if everyone was required to sit with their roommates, or if that's just how the groups of friends went. 

Once everyone had found their seats, Becky went on to explain the summer would go. There would be three sessions. The first session would last for three weeks and would be with the 10 and 11 year olds. During Session One, the coaches would be required to go over any and all basic skills relating to soccer, and they would coach scrimmage games at the end of each week to put the basic skills that were learned into practice. At the end of Session One, the coaches would have a week long break where they could do whatever they wanted. Some would choose to go home for the week, while others would stay and relax and enjoy the lakefront property they were living on. After the break, the second session would start. Session Two was a strenuous four week session with 14, 15, and 16 year olds. This session would focus on intense physical training along with endurance tests and realistic 90 minute scrimmage games twice a week. The girls in Session Two would be attending the camp in order to prepare for youth national teams and college. After Session Two, there would be another week long break followed immediately after by the third session. Session Three consisted of 12 and 13 year olds who would still be taught basic skills, but the physical training would be slightly more strenuous than Session One. 

Once Becky was done explaining the layout of the summer, she began explaining how the coaches would be divided into their positions. The campers would work with the coaches in the specific positions in addition to the full group training together. Each position would elect a captain, and that captain would be in charge of planning the training regime each day, as well as being the co-head coach during scrimmage games. Becky quickly divided the group of coaches into their respective positions, sending each group to a different corner of the room. Christen watched as her 3 roommates all made their way to the back corner of the room where all the defenders were told to meet. She took a deep breath and walked to the front where she met two girls she had met earlier, Sydney and Crystal, along with one of The Pro's. Alex. 

"Hey! Newbie, awesome! It's been a couple years since we had a newbie in the Forward Force." Alex grinned widely as Christen took a seat. "I'm Alex. This is Crystal and Sydney." Christen gave a quick smile and nod. 

"Yeah, I met Sydney and Crystal earlier actually. I'm Christen." 

"Where are you from, Christen?" Alex quizzed. 

"LA. But I've been at Stanford for the last four years." Christen replied as she looked over her shoulder and noticed Tobin at the group of midfielders. She was leaning back in the chair with her arms crossed and her feet balancing on a soccer ball on the ground. 

"Wait, no shit? You're Christen Press?" Alex was wide eyed. 

"Yes?" Christen answered wearily, turning her attention back to the group of forwards around her. 

"The hot shot striker from Stanford?" Alex asked a little louder and Christen just nodded. "No way! I played at Cal the last few years, I knew I recognized you!" 

"Oh my god, yeah! I've been at UCLA, I recognize you too!" Sydney added and Christen felt herself blushing. 

"And I go to UNC, so I didn't immediately recognize you but I totally know who you are." Crystal followed up.

"I'm flattered that any of you guys have even heard my name." Christen responded with a shy smile. 

"So since you're such a hot shot, did you have plans to be captain?" Alex questioned and Christen felt herself immediately shaking her head without much hesitation. 

"Oh, god no. No. I'll go ahead and take myself out of the running for that." Christen replied and Sydney and Crystal both laughed at her anxious response. 

"Perfect. That settles it then. I'll be captain for the fifth year in a row. Should I give a speech?" Alex asked excitedly making Crystal and Sydney groan. 

"Please, no." Crystal begged. 

"You better not give that bull shit speech from last year!" Sydney exclaimed as she watched Alex grin and stand in her chair. "Oh, fuck." She grumbled to herself. 

"Attention, everyone!" Alex yelled out to all of the girls in the mess hall. She was met with some applause and cheers from different groups. "It's time for my speech," she began. "Four score, and seven years ago I -" Crystal reached over and grabbed her arm and yanked her off the chair. 

"Sit your scrawny ass down, Morgan." She said loudly enough so the rest of the girls could all hear her. Everyone responded with immediate laughter and much louder cheers than when Alex had initially stood. Alex laughed and shrugged. 

"Just gives me incentive to make my speech next year even better." Crystal and Sydney both groaned in response to that. 

The four forwards spent the next half hour going over game plans and training strategies and getting used to each others playing style. Finally, Becky made her way back to the front of the mess hall and dismissed everyone, reminding them that they had two full days to get settled before Session One started. All of the girls stood and began making their way out of the mess hall. Christen quickly weaved through the throng of soccer players to find her roommates in the back talking to the other two defenders, Ali and Kling. 

"I heard the boys are going to bring firewood and some food to cook, like hot dogs and hamburgers." Ali said to the group as Christen walked up behind Julie. 

"Yeah but if we want to get wasted, we'll have to supply our own alcohol." Kling declared, then added, "Which means I better go find Pinoe so we can get to the store before everyone else." And with that, Kling tore off through the mess hall and out the front door. 

"She's so strange sometimes." Julie laughed, turning back to the group after watching Kling run off. 

"Aren't we all?" The group laughed as Ali continued. "Anyways, if you want anything to eat other than hamburgers and hot dogs you should probably go get that as well." Ali squeaked as a pair of tattooed arms wrapped around her waist from behind. 

"We'll have to go get something else then, because there's no way I'm letting any of those wieners go anywhere near my mouth. Or my girlfriend's mouth." Ali's girlfriend Ashlyn joked from her position behind Ali and the group laughed. 

"What are we talking about? What's the food for?" Christen interjected. 

"It's the first night of the summer so we're getting drunk." Kelley explained simply. 

"Yeah, the coaches from the guys camp down the road are coming up and we're going to have a fire between the cabins and games next to the lake. Stuff like that." Julie explained further and Christen nodded slightly in understanding. 

"Do the coaches from the guys camp come to our camp often?" Christen asked. 

"Most of them come every weekend. A lot of the girls here are dating some of those guys so they always come up to hangout." Kelley grumbled. "I can't believe The Pro's have been in long term relationships for years, but I can't even get a date." Christen's ears immediately perked up. 

"Aw, Kell Bell, if you want me to go on a date with you, all you have to do is ask!" Sonnett winked at Kelley jokingly again but the older girl just rolled her eyes and turned to make her way out of the mess hall.

"In your dreams, Sonny." Kelley called over her shoulder. 

"You're right. Wanna hear about them?" Sonnett said as she jogged to catch up with Kelley and they made their way outside. Julie laughed at the interaction.

"They're ridiculous." She shook her head in enjoyment. Christen forced a smile but couldn't help thinking about what Kelley had said. 

"So, are all of the Pro's in relationships?" Christen asked as she and Julie made their way out of the mess hall and into the courtyard of the camp where the rest of the girls were milling around. 

"I think so. Allie and Alex have been dating a couple guys from down the road for the last few years. I don't know about Tobin though. No one ever knows about Tobin." Julie shrugged. "All I know is she's never hooked up with anyone at all since I've been coming here the last three years. Never even made out with anyone at any of the clubs we go to during our breaks. Makes it seem like she's in a healthy, committed relationship. Right?" 

"Hey, Newbie! Come here!" Christen immediately turned to look for the source of the voice, knowing she was the only newbie at camp. She saw the Pro's standing together about ten yards away with Alex waving her over. "Come over here!" 

"Um, the Professionals are beckoning you. Newbie." Julie nudged Christen's shoulder jokingly and Christen rolled her eyes. 

"Yeah, I'll meet you back at the cabin in a few minutes?" Christen offered and Julie nodded. The blonde turned and started making her way to the cabin where Kelley and Sonnett stood laughing about something. Christen started walking towards the Pro's, trying not to make too much eye contact with Tobin, who seemed to be watching her like a hawk. 

"Hey, Newbie." Alex smiled as she approached their group. "These are my friends, Allie and Tobin." She pointed to each girl respectively. "Guys, this is Christen Press from -" 

"From Stanford." The blonde, Allie, interrupted her. "We've definitely heard of you over at UNC. Right, Tobe?" Christen looked over and saw Tobin give her a small smile and nodded in agreement with Allie. "It's crazy that you're at camp this year. We're lucky to have you." Allie smiled warmly and Christen was taken aback by her authenticity. 

"Well, thank you. I'm really happy to be here." Christen replied genuinely. 

"You just let any of us know if you need anything, okay?" Alex said and Christen nodded eagerly. "Oh, and are you single by any chance? Our boyfriends are coming tonight and we could totally have them bring a guy for you." Christen almost choked on her laughter. 

"Um, no. I mean yes, I'm single. But no, I'm not exactly interested in boys." Christen offered and watched as Allie and Alex gave each other a knowing look. 

"Noted." Allie replied before grabbing Alex's arm and nodding towards the cabins. "Shall we?" Allie and Alex turned to walk back towards their cabin but Tobin hung back a little bit longer. Christen immediately felt the tension in the air. 

"They like you." Finally, Christen heard more words come out of Tobin's mouth. Her voice was just as warm and welcoming as she remembered. 

"Yeah? I mean, yeah. I was hoping they would. They're pretty cool." Christen tried to be nonchalant but was already fumbling over her words.

"Means you're special." Tobin started walking towards the cabins but paused for a second for Christen to realize that she was supposed to walk with her. She had a soccer ball at her feet, as always. 

"I don't know about that..." Christen mumbled and Tobin let out a gentle laugh. It was music to Christen's ears. 

"You should hang out with us later. At the party." Tobin offered and Christen immediately felt herself nodding in agreement. She mentally chastised herself for not being calm and collected. "Cool, I'll see you later then." As the two parted ways, Christen felt something go between her feet. She looked down and realized what had happened. 

"Did you just nutmeg me?" She asked as she looked over at the girl who was walking away from her, backwards. Tobin shrugged her shoulders and gave Christen a lopsided grin.

"Too easy. You're predictable." Tobin smiled once again then turned and jogged into the cabin. 

"This is going to be a long summer." Christen thought to herself as she made her way over to her roommates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter is the first party of the summer and each chapter from here on out will include a lot more preath interaction. let me know whatchu guys think ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	3. The First Party

"We got the alcohol!" Kelley exclaimed as she and Sonnett enter their bedroom. Christen looked up from her book to see the girls holding two six packs of beer, one bottle of vodka, and one bottle of whiskey.

"Yeah! And Kelley only threatened to murder me three times!" Emily added excitedly. Christen let out a quiet chuckle. 

"Only three? I'm shocked. Seems like a successful outing." Julie responded teasingly. 

"I know, right? She spent the rest of the time telling me how much she loves me and how sexy I am. So yeah, decent afternoon." Sonnett grinned over at Kelley who was already rolling her eyes. 

"Sonnett, do you want me to act on those threats to murder you?" Emily pretended to consider her answer before replying. 

"Well, for one, there's no way that you could've murdered me with my own sunglasses so you're already down to two out of three threats." Christen grinned wondering how that threat came about. "Secondly, no, I do not want you to murder me." Emily finished. Kelley sat the alcohol down on her bed. 

"Yeah, that's what I figured." She said knowingly. 

"Plus, you'd miss me too much anyway." Kelley jerked her head over towards Emily and glared at her. 

"You have a five second head start." The grin dropped from Emily's face immediately. 

"Fuck!" She practically yelled as she bolted out the door. Christen and Julie could barely contain their laughter as Kelley groaned and collapsed onto her bed. 

"She seems to be a ball of energy sometimes." Christen stated. 

"Sometimes? God, she's worse than I was freshman year." Kelley said with a huff. Julie laughed. 

"You weren't that bad freshman year. And she's not that bad now." The blonde responded. Kelley sat up so she could look over at her. 

"Are we talking about the same person?" She asked. 

"Don't act like you don't enjoy the attention." Julie winked at her jokingly and Christen couldn't help but laugh. 

"Whatever. I'll be outside." Kelley grumbled as she got off her bed and left the room. 

"Do you think they're going to hook up?" Christen asked Julie as she closed her book and placed it on the small nightstand next to her bed. 

"Oh, it's only a matter of time, honestly." She answered. "I thought they were going to hook up last year but they never did. They're picking up right where they left off, though." 

"Kind of seems like a bad idea, don't you think?"

"Why?" 

"Well, because they're stuck here together." Christen explained. "Like not just this room, but here in general. They'll be working together for the next three months and seeing each other all day, every day. If they hook up and it doesn't end well, that's going to be a shitty three months." Julie shrugged. 

"I don't know, I guess that's one way of looking at it." She replied as she leaned over and started putting her shoes on. "The other way is to look at the next three months and think about all the fun they could potentially have together." 

"I guess that’s true." 

"It is true." Julie finished tying her shoes then stood up from her bed. "We're at a gorgeous camp. There's a lake, a pitch, hiking trails, not to mention we have every weekend off and we're only twenty minutes from the city. Always makes me wish Zach could be a coach at the boys camp. There can't be that big of a difference between football and futbol, right?" Christen laughed. 

"They're practically identical." 

"They sound practically identical." Julie countered. 

"That's what I meant." Christen replied and they both laughed. Julie glanced out the window when she heard voices getting louder outside. 

"It sounds like the guys are here. Ready to go?" She asked and Christen nodded. 

"After you." 

As the two girls made their way out of the cabin, Christen was overwhelmed by everything that was already happened. There were a few guys standing around a grill making food, there was a group of girls and guys standing over the fire trying to get it started, there were groups of people all around playing games of keep-it-up. She noticed Kelley and Sonnett standing down on the beach, but couldn't seem to find Tobin anywhere. 

"Looks like KO and Sonnett are down on the beach with some of the other girls." Julie pointed out. "Wanna go down there?" 

"Yeah, sure." Christen nodded and they begin making their way over until Christen heard Allie's voice from behind her. 

"Striker!" Christen turned and saw Allie, Alex, and Sydney standing with a group of three guys. 

"Newbie! Come meet some people!" Alex waved her over. 

"Are they your new best friends or what?" Julie asked jokingly. Christen rolled her eyes. 

"Shut up. They're just being nice to me." She explained. "I'm not going to go out of my way to make sure someone is an ass to me if it's not necessary." Julie just shrugged. 

"I guess that's a good point." 

"I know it is." Christen replied. 

"Christen, come on!" She heard Alex yell again. 

"I'll meet up with you guys in a bit." She said to the blonde. Julie nodded and began backing away. 

"Have fun with your new best friends!" She called over her shoulder as she turned to make her way down to the beach. Christen chuckled to herself then made her way over to the group of six. 

"Hey, striker!" Allie greeted her with a huge grin. 

"Christen, these are our boyfriends. This is Servando, Bati, and Dom." Alex introduced Christen to the three guys respectively. "They're all coaches over at the boys camp. Guys, this is Christen Press." 

"It's nice to meet you guys." Christen gave a small smile and wave. 

"Wait, you're Christen Press?" Alex's boyfriend, Servando, asked. 

"Yep." She answered quickly. Already feeling anxious about where this was headed. 

"Is she the one you've told me about before?" Servando asked Alex, who just nodded. 

"Mhm. We talked about her last year sometime." The brunette answered. Christen couldn't help but wonder why they had talked about her before she had even met Alex. 

"Right! You're the striker at Stanford." Servando announced with a look of recognition. 

"I was. I just graduated." Christen corrected him. 

"You're the one that's the top goal scorer at Stanford now?" Dom, Sydney's boyfriend joined in on the conversation. "Syd has mentioned you as well, I believe." 

"I have. Nothing but compliments, I promise." Sydney said, nudging Christen jokingly. 

"Compliments?" Dom laughed. "More like objectifications. You were practically drooling over her playing style and whining about how you weren't quick enough to be top scorer at your school." Sydney shoved his shoulder and he kept laughing. 

"Shut up, Dom! It's a sensitive subject!" Sydney exclaimed and the whole group joined in on the laughter. 

"Well, to answer your original question, yeah I'm the top scorer now. I barely beat out Kelley though." Christen reminded them, pointing over her shoulder at her friend who was still down on the beach. 

"Who is Kelley?" Allie's boyfriend, Bati, asked. 

"She's one of the other coaches here. The forward-turned-defender." Allie explained and Bati nodded in understanding. 

"Yeah, we're going to miss her on the Forward Force." Alex complained and Christen watched as Servando rolled his eyes. 

"You guys really need to stop coming up with cute nicknames for everything." He teased. 

"And you guys really need to stop harshing our mellow." Alex teased back. 

"Yeah, Serv! Don't harsh their mellow, mate." Dom exclaimed, mocking Alex. Christen felt like she was sitting front row in the live audience at a Sitcom. She couldn't understand why none of her friends seemed to like these girls. She already loved them. 

"Hey, Tobes!" Christen stiffened when she heard Allie welcoming Tobin to the group. She looked to her right and saw the brunette standing just a couple feet away from her. She noticed immediately that the girl was barefoot and had a soccer ball resting under her arm. 

"Hey guys." She greeted everyone as she joined the group. 

"Tobin, brilliant!" Dom draped an arm over Tobin's shoulders then turned his attention back to the group. "Now that Tobin is here, do you guys want to play pick up? We've got even teams now." He offered. 

"Baby, not everyone wants to play soccer every second of every day." Sydney countered and Dom's face fell. 

"What, why not?" He asked genuinely. 

"That's what I'm saying." Tobin added, receiving a mega-watt grin from Dom. 

"I'm down for a game of pick up." Serv said and the rest of the group seemed to agree. 

"We can do guys vs girls?" Bati offered and immediately followed it up by saying, "We get Tobin though." 

"In what world is that fair?" Allie groaned and Bati laughed. 

"Thanks for the offer, but I might dry up and blow away if I don't get some food into this body ASAP." Tobin joked. 

"But we're uneven now!" Dom complained but Tobin just shrugged. 

"I'm actually pretty hungry myself. Rain check?" Christen offered and the rest of the group groaned once again. 

"Fine. Party poopers." Alex teased as the rest of the group made their way down to the beach. Christen looked over to see Tobin watching her. She nodded over towards the grill then both girls began making their way over, wordlessly. 

"Want me to grab you a burger? Or a hot dog?" Tobin asked as they approached the grill. 

"I'm actually vegetarian." Christen explained and Tobin furrowed her brows. 

"Well, we have..." She glanced over the food selections. "Shish kebabs? With chicken on them. That's the best I can do." 

"Go ahead and grab me a couple of those. You can just have the chicken." Tobin looked over at her and placed a gentle hand over her own chest. 

"Christen Press, you already know the way to my heart. Who told you that all you have to do is feed me?" Christen laughed. 

"Lucky guess?" She offered. 

"Very lucky." Tobin countered as she grabbed them both a plate full of food. The two girls walked closer to the beach. "Here, want to sit?" Tobin asked, nodding to an empty blanket resting on the sand. 

"Sure." Christen nodded and they both took a seat on the blanket. 

Christen looked out and saw Tobin's roommates and their boyfriends playing a game of pick up down the beach a bit. They were all laughing and enjoying themselves. She couldn't help but smile to herself, thinking about what Julie had said earlier. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have someone around this summer that she could just enjoy the time spent with them. She glanced over at Tobin who was making a disgusted face as she pulled an onion off of her burger. Christen couldn't help but laugh a little, causing Tobin to look over at her and stick out her tongue. She turned her attention back to the lake in front of her and sighed. 

"I love this place so much." Tobin said quietly as she sat her empty plate down next to her on the sand. 

"Yeah, it's really beautiful." Christen agreed. 

"I'm going to miss it." Christen turned to look at Tobin, whose attention was on the lake in front of her as well. 

"Are you leaving?" 

"I'll be here all summer, but this is my last summer at camp. I'll be with a club this time next year." Christen nodded in understanding. 

"That makes sense." 

"Are you enjoying it here?" Tobin asked with a smile, taking her attention off the lake and placing it on the girl sitting next to her. 

"Well, I've only been here six hours..." Christen joked and Tobin's smile just grew. 

"Yeah, but if something is right, you can feel it almost immediately." She said quietly and Christen felt her stomach do a flip. She watched as the barefoot girl once again turned to look out at the lake. "I feel it every time I come here." Christen turned her attention back to the lake as well. 

"Well then, yeah. I'm enjoying it. I think this is exactly where I need to be this summer." She answered Tobin's question then added, "It will be a good distraction for me." 

"Distraction from what, if you don't mind me asking?" Tobin questioned. 

"What if I told you that I won't be playing soccer anymore after this summer?" Christen answered softly and Tobin turned to look at her with confusion plastered across her face. 

"You're not going to play with a club? Why? You're so talented." Christen couldn't help but laugh a bit at the irony of Tobin's response. She had already been contacted by multiple different clubs in multiple different countries, but she just couldn't do it. 

"I promised my dad that I would join the family business after I graduated. So that's what I'll be doing once I leave camp." Christen pulled her knees into her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs, feeling quite vulnerable. 

"Seriously?" Tobin asked, incredulously. Christen just nodded. "I know this isn't my place, so please let me know if I'm overstepping but..." 

"Go on." Christen urged and Tobin continued. 

"Okay, well, it's just hard for me to understand why you're stepping away from soccer just because you made your dad a promise. He's your dad, not a seven year old child. You can break a promise." Tobin explained and Christen just shook her head. 

"It's not that simple." She countered. 

"Why not?" 

"I can't just disappoint him like that." She said softly, pulling her legs in a little tighter. 

"It would disappoint him for his daughter to do what she loves?" Tobin asked, sounding almost angry. 

"That's not what I meant." Christen defended and Tobin groaned. Christen watched as the brunette's body language softened almost immediately. 

"I'm sorry. You're just so talented, I don't want to see you give that up." Tobin apologized and Christen just shrugged. 

"You haven't seen me play. I'm not that talented." 

"I have seen you play. You are that talented." Tobin nudged her shoulder, trying to reassure her. 

"It's just a confusing situation." Christen said and Tobin nodded, knowing the conversation was over. 

"Do you want a drink?" She asked. Christen nodded enthusiastically, making Tobin laugh as she stood up. 

"Just a beer please." Tobin gave her a thumbs up then made her way over to grab both of them beers. As soon as she had left, Kelley plopped down next to Christen, a little too close for comfort. 

"Hey CP." The freckled girl greeted her. 

"Hey. What have you been doing?" Christen asked. 

"Watching Sonnett try to make a sand castle." Kelley pointed down the beach where Emily was standing in the water up to her knees, trying to scoop up water using her hands. "The sand isn't wet so she's really struggling." 

"Oh my god." Christen laughed as they watched Emily run out of the water, her hands still in scoop form, and try to dump the water onto a mound of sand. Only a few drops came out. 

"So, you and your girlfriend seemed to be having an interesting conversation." Christen turned to see Tobin standing a few yards away at the drink table talking to a few guys. She quickly turned her attention back to Kelley, glaring at her. 

"Shut up. She's not my girlfriend." Kelley grinned and shrugged. 

"I've been at this camp with her for four years. You've been here for a few hours. She's already said more to you in this one day than she's said to me in the last four years." Kelley pointed out. "She seems smitten."

"Smitten?" Christen laughed. 

"Yeah. Seriously. I don't think I've ever seen her talk this much to anyone other than Allie and Alex." Christen paused for a second to consider what Kelley had said, then shook her head. 

"No, I mean exactly. She's talked to them just as much and they're just her friends. And that's all we are." Christen defended before adding, "She's not smitten." Kelley just grinned again. 

"Don't act like there's not an attraction there, CP." You're forgetting how well I know you." Kelley reminded her and Christen just rolled her eyes. 

"Okay, maybe I'm attracted to her. But that still doesn't mean anything." She countered. 

"You say that now." 

"Whatever. Go help Sonnett build her sand castle." Christen gave her friend a playful shove and watched as she stood up. 

"Fine. But in a few weeks when you two are canoodling every second of every day, I will absolutely say that I told you so." Kelley warned and Christen couldn't help but laugh. 

"Canoodling? Are you 80?" Christen joked and Kelley shook her head enthusiastically. 

"I'm only 79, you ass!" 

"Hey Kell, you know Emily is in love with you right?" Kelley glared at her friend and began walking away. 

"See ya, Press!" She called over her shoulder as she made her way down the beach towards Sonnett. Christen was still laughing when she felt Tobin sit down next to her, a little closer than last time. 

"Did I run Kelley off?" She asked as Christen quelled her laughter. 

"No, don't worry. I did." She reassured her, still trying to contain her giggles. 

"What is her girlfriend doing?" Tobin asked, motioning towards Sonnett who at this point was using her t-shirt as a device to transport the water from the lake to the sand. 

"Girlfriend?" Christen asked then saw who she was motioning towards. "Oh, Sonnett's not..." Christen began then thought better. "She's trying to build a sand castle." She finished and Tobin laughed. 

"Your friends are strange." She said, still watching Sonnett work diligently to build her sand castle. 

"Yours are too." Christen countered, pointing out Tobin's roommates and their boyfriends further down the beach building a cheerleader pyramid with Dom trying to climb on top. Both girls laughed out loud at the sight. 

"Yeah. It's great." Tobin responded, smiling. 

Tobin and Christen sat on the beach for a while longer people watching and laughing to themselves about how crazy all of their fellow coaches were. They finally parted ways when Julie needed a partner for beer pong against Kelley and Sonnett. Christen watched as Tobin made her way back to her roommates to spend time with them, and she felt herself immediately wishing she had invited Tobin to join her instead. The thought was pushed from her mind once the match started though. Kelley and Sonnett beat Julie and Christen horribly the first round. The second round was a much closer match with Julie and Christen pulling out all the stops and coming out with a win. All four girls decided it was best not to have a third round so things would stay even and nobody would hold it over anybody's heads for the rest of the summer. Once they were done playing, they moved off to the side to let the next group play. They stood around talking to other girls and other guys for a few hours, until people seemed to start heading inside to go to bed. That was when Julie brought up the subject of Emily's "sand castle" that she was so proud of. 

"You made a boob sand castle." Kelley dead panned, causing fits of giggles to erupt from Julie and Christen. 

"Yeah! And it was beautiful!" Sonnett exclaimed and Kelley rolled her eyes. 

"It was just two big piles of sand!" She argued. 

"It's art!" Emily practically yelled as Kelley glared at her.

"Kelley, you really need to learn to respect her creative side if this marriage is ever going to work out." Julie joked, bringing a smile back to Emily's face.

"I hate you both." Kelley grumbled. 

"Go ahead and hate me too, because I agree with JJ" Christen added and Kelley groaned. 

"Fine! You're on the list too then." She informed her. 

"And you're both on my list of best friends because you're being so supportive. You're my favorites." Emily draped her arms over Julie's and Christen's shoulders and grinned over at Kelley. The freckled girl once again rolled her eyes. 

"Kell, your eyes are going to get stuck in the back of your head if you don't stop rolling them so much." Christen pointed out. 

"Hey." Christen immediately turned at the sound of the voice to find Tobin standing next to her. 

"Oh, hey!" She greeted her with a smile. 

"All my roommates bailed on me to go spend time with their boyfriends." Tobin explained and Christen furrowed her brows. 

"That's lame." She said and Tobin just shrugged. 

"I'm used to it." 

"Well, we were all just talking about Emily's boob sand castle and how Kelley isn't supportive of her art." Christen said, moving over slightly so Tobin would feel more welcome in the group. 

"It's a travesty." Emily complained and Kelley groaned once again. 

"It's sand!" She nearly shouted. 

"I thought the sand castle was beautifully constructed." Tobin acknowledged. 

"Thank you!" Emily said, gesturing at Tobin while looking at Kelley as if to ask why she couldn't be more supportive like her.

"You're truly the Michelangelo of sand castles." Tobin joked and Christen had a hard time controlling her giggles. 

"Finally, someone who sees me for who I really am!" Emily threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. 

"Oh my god." Kelley mumbled to herself. 

"Tobin, you've been added to my list as well." Emily announced and Tobin raised an eyebrow. 

"Your list?" 

"List of best friends. She's been adding new people all night." Julie explained and Tobin nodded. 

"Well, I'm honored." Tobin bowed towards Emily who was grinning from ear to ear. She was loving this. 

"You're all ridiculous." Kelley grumbled." I'm going to take a shower and head to bed. It's late." 

"Need some help with your shower?" Emily offered with a grin. 

"Even if I say no you're still going to just follow right behind me." Kelley said as she turned and began making her way inside. 

"Yup, here I come!" Emily shouted after her then waved goodbye to the rest of the group. 

"They seriously need to bone." Julie said, turning to face Christen and Tobin once the other two had made it inside. 

"I still can't believe they haven't yet." Christen replied and Tobin looked stunned. 

"They haven't?" She asked and Christen shook her head. 

"Nope. Shocking, right?" 

"I'm going to go finish organizing my stuff then go to bed myself." Julie announced. "You coming, CP?" 

"I'll be there in a minute." She assured the blonde. 

"See ya Julie." Tobin said as Julie began walking away. The blonde turned back to face her with a confused expression.

"Oh, um...bye Tobin." She then turned and walked inside as Christen and Tobin watched her. 

"Do your friends hate me or what?" Tobin chuckled and Christen laughed. 

"Well, Emily clearly loves you. You were added to her list, remember?" Christen reminded her. 

"Of course." Tobin replied, then a little bit softer she added, "Kelley and Julie hate me though." 

"I don't think they do. But who cares either way?" Christen asked and Tobin shrugged. 

"I mean, I'd kind of prefer for your friends to not hate me." She countered. 

"Why?" 

"I dunno. You're pretty cool and I was planning on hanging out with you a bit this summer. Figured they might be around sometimes when that happens." Tobin explained and Christen couldn't keep herself from grinning. 

"You're probably right about that." 

"I'm usually right about most things." Tobin replied with a cocky grin. Christen laughed and rolled her eyes at the girl. 

"Well, on that note, I'm going to head inside. I'm not used to staying up this late." Christen looked down at her watch to see that it was already almost 2 am. 

"Maybe I'll see you tomorrow sometime." Tobin said and Christen quickly nodded. 

"I'm sure you will." Christen began walking backwards towards the cabin, slowly. "Goodnight, Tobin." 

"Goodnight, Striker." Tobin winked at her before turning and walking back towards her on cabin. 

Christen made her way inside the cabin and shut the door behind her, leaning against it. She had known this girl for all of 10 hours now and she was already making her stomach do more flips than Simone Biles had done in her entire life. Christen knew she was in trouble, but she just had to keep reminding herself that she wasn't here for a relationship of any sort. She was here to enjoy her final three months of soccer with her best friends. That's all. Christen finally made her way back down the hall and into the bedroom where Kelley was laying on her bed in a towel, Sonnett was laying upside down with her head hanging off the top bunk reading a magazine, and Julie was sitting in the floor folding her clothes. 

"Did you set a date?" Kelley asked once she noticed Christen walk into the room. 

"A date? For what?" Christen questioned as she sat down on the bottom bunk and began taking her shoes off. 

"For your inevitable wedding with Tobin." Kelley pointed out with a grin. 

"Shut up, Kell." Christen said, pulling her shoes off then squatting down to rummage through her duffel bag to find some clothes to sleep in. 

"I get maid of honor privileges over Kelley, right?" Julie joked and Christen shot her an unintimidating glare. 

"Dibs on ring bear!" Emily announced excitedly from the top bunk. 

"Bearer, Sonnett. Ring bearer." Kelley corrected her and Emily huffed out a sigh.

"Less cool. No longer interested." Emily mumbled as she picked up her magazine and began reading again. 

"You guys are the worst. Tobin and I are just friends." Christen reminded them as she grabbed a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and made her way into the connected bathroom, leaving the door open. 

"Just friends that are totally going to bang multiple times this summer. I'm calling it." Julie said from her position in the floor. 

"I'm not hooking up with anyone from camp this summer." Christen called out from the bathroom while she changed. "I mean, I'm probably not hooking up with anyone at all." 

"That's a pessimistic attitude." Emily said and Kelley nodded in agreement even though Christen couldn't see her. 

"What's the point?" Christen asked as she walked out of the bathroom, pulling her t-shirt down over her toned stomach and tossing her clothes into the dirty clothes hamper next to the bathroom door. "Even if Tobin and I were to hypothetically "hook up", it would only last for a few months then she'd go enjoy the life of professional soccer and I'd go back to LA and start wearing pantsuits to work every day." Christen sat down on the bottom bunk and began brushing through her hair. 

"Oh yeah, you're the type that only hooks up if it's someone you're interested in having a relationship with. So you can't just bang her a couple times and move on." Kelley said and Christen nodded. 

"Well, yeah. And I'm not interested in having a relationship with Tobin, or anyone, this summer." Christen explained as she put her hairbrush down and climbed under the covers. 

"Why not?" Julie asked as she finished putting all her clothes away. "It could be a fun distraction from everything that's going on." She offered. 

"Yeah, then at the end of the summer I have to break up with a girl and with soccer." Christen said then shook her head. "No thank you." 

"You should try a no-strings-attached type situation. Be all Ashton Kutcher-y." Emily said, hanging slightly lower over the edge of the top bunk so she could see Christen below her. "It could be fun." 

"She catches feelings too easily." Kelley said from across the room. 

"I do not!" Christen argued as Kelley stood up and dropped her towel. 

"You totally do." Kelley said, grabbing a pair of Nike shorts off her bed and stepping into them, then pulling a tank top over her head. 

"Kelley's right." Julie agreed as she climbed into her own bed and got under the covers. 

"I don't know you that well, but I'll agree with anything that comes out of Kelley's mouth right now." Emily stated, never taking her eyes off of Kelley who was drying her hair with the towel. 

"Thank you, Sonny." Kelley called out and Emily grinned. 

"No problem, boo boo bunny." Kelley groaned. 

"Anyways, it's just not happening." Christen assured them all. "Regardless of the situation. Tobin is cool and I think I'll enjoy hanging out with her this summer, but I'm not going to hook up with her and I'm definitely not going to date her." 

"Did anyone record that so we can use it against her at a later date?" Julie asked. 

"Hold on..." Kelley tossed her towel in the dirty clothes hamper and grabbed her phone off the nightstand. She unlocked it and tapped it a few times then held it out towards Christen. "Okay, Press, can you say that again? Verbatim, please?" 

"Fuck you guys, I'm going to bed." Christen rolled over to face the wall as she listened to her roommates laughing at their jokes. 

"Love you, Pressy!" Julie said once her laughter had died down a bit. 

"Ditto!" Kelley echoed. 

"Love is a strong word, but you're still on my list." Emily assured her before adding, "Love you Kelley!" Christen and Julie burst into a fit of giggles as Kelley groaned. 

At this point, Christen had no idea what was going to happen this summer with Tobin. But she knew she was going to have a lot of fun figuring it all out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in case yall hadnt noticed, i live for dialogue. i have way too much fun with it. anyway, this will be closer to the length of most chapters. let me know what you think


	4. Session One, Week One

"Are you two even looking at what you're grabbing before you toss it into the cart?" Christen asked, her question directed towards Kelley and Emily. Julie chuckled behind her.

"Yeah, there's no way you need four different kinds of pop tarts." Julie pointed out in agreement.

"Yes we do." Kelley quickly corrected her. "We need our two favorites -"

"Brown sugar cinnamon, and strawberry." Emily explained, cutting her off.

"And the two that we both have wanted to try but haven't yet." Kelley continued.

"Maple bacon and chocolate mocha." Emily explained again, holding up the two boxes then dropping them back into the shopping cart.

"That's ridiculous." Christen said.

Kelley shrugged. "Hey, you asked."

"CP, just let them be." Julie said, placing an arm around Christen's shoulders. "You've gotta admit that it's pretty cute watching them be all domestic like this. It's like a glimpse into the future, watching them buy groceries for their five children." Julie waved her hand in the air, pretending to look off into the future. Christen couldn't help but laugh.

"God, you're right." Christen agreed. "I didn't realize how adorable it is." Christen looked back over at Kelley just in time to see her rolling her eyes.

"I hate you both." Kelley stated with no emotion. She grabbed the shopping cart and began walking down the aisle. "Come on, Sonny. We don't need this negativity." She called over her shoulder.

"I thought that was pretty positive." The blonde answered.

"Come on." Kelley called again.

"Yes, dear." Emily replied then sprinted after her. Julie and Christen watched as they turned the corner at the end of the aisle.

"You know it's only a matter of time until they're dating." Julie pointed out, removing her arm from Christen's shoulders as they slowly made their way down the aisle.

"Are we sure they're not already dating?" Christen asked. "They seem pretty inseparable."

"Well, you and Tobin seemed pretty inseparable yesterday..." Julie reminded her.

"That's different." Christen replied, rolling her eyes. "We're just getting to know each other. We're not interested in each other." She explained. "Plus, yesterday before the party, weren't the three of you going on about how much you disliked her?"

"Listen," Julie started. "You know that none of us are Tobin's biggest fan, but that's not going to stop us from trying to convince you to let loose and have some fun this summer. Even if you spend the summer with a fuckboy, you can still have a good time. Just let things happen." Christen huffed at her explanation.

"I mean, I'll try to do that. I'll try to just let things happen." She said, then quickly added, "but that doesn't necessarily mean anything is going to happen between Tobin and me."

"I understand that. But if something does happen, just let it. Okay?" The blonde asked and Christen felt herself nodding.

"Okay, fine." She agreed.

"Good. Now we should probably go find Sonnett and Kell before they buy every ounce of ice cream this store has." Julie pointed out and Christen's eyes widened dramatically.

"Oh shit, you're right."

\- 

"But, the worst part about this camp is the fact that our cabin will never be void of sand." Rapinoe explained as she worked diligently to pick leftover paper off her popsicle. All of the Cabin One girls, aside from Kelley and Emily, were lounging around the great room. "It ends up everywhere, and no matter how many times we clean, it will always be here."

"Last year, I swore up and down that there were little sand fairies who would come into our cabin each night and sprinkle sand everywhere." Morgan said to Christen, who was listening intently to the complaints.

"Personally, I still think it was girls from the other cabin coming in here and doing it." Lindsey added from her position on the kitchen counter.

Christen looked at her incredulously. "Seriously?"

"Seriously." Kling stopped tossing her soccer ball up in the air and sat up to face Christen. "It was infuriating, Press. We would sweep every inch of this floor, then go to sleep or go to lunch or something like that, and the next time we walked in here there'd be sand everywhere." The smaller girl seemed to actually cringe at the thought.

"And," Julie began, "no one in our cabin would admit to going to the beach." The blonde rolled her eyes. "Sand would just show up for absolutely no reason."

Christen took a few seconds to take in everything the girls were saying. "So, you think girls from the other cabin were coming in here and sprinkling sand on your floors... as a prank?"

"Yes!" Lindsey practically yelled.

"Okay, I know that right now you're thinking that sounds like a really lame prank," Morgan started to explain to the new girl, "but it clearly affected us HEAVILY."

"I still have nightmares about it." Rapinoe joked and the other girls laughed.

"My therapist even has nightmares about it." Kling added and drew out more laughter.

"It sounds like some pretty serious psychological warfare." Christen finally conceded.

"Where are Kelley and Sonnett?" Julie asked. "They were pretty heavily affected by this too."

"Probably making out somewhere." Rapinoe mumbled under her breath as she continued picking paper off her almost melted popsicle.

"We were not making out anywhere." Kelley argued as she and Emily walked into the room. She made sure to slap Rapinoe on the back of her head as she walked past. "I just heard you guys talking about the sand conspiracy and didn't want to be a part of it. I've put that portion of my life behind me, and now I'm moving on." Kelley explained while she grabbed a popsicle out of the freezer and hopped up on the counter next to Lindsey. Emily leaned against the door frame watching the older girl with a smile on her face.

"Right..." Kling nodded knowingly. "So the two of you were totally making out."

"No!" Kelley argued as the other girls laughed.

"Hey, would it really have been so bad if we HAD been making out?" Emily asked before adding, "not that we were."

"Yes!" Kelley quickly answered and Christen could tell Emily had to physically restrain herself from rolling her eyes.

"Kelley, that's no way to talk to your girlfriend." Rapinoe joked.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Kelley hopped down from the counter at this point, waving her popsicle around as she argued with the group of girls.

"Oh my god." Lindsey reached out from where she was sitting next to Kelley and placed her hand on her shoulder. "Did you two already get married?!" Kelley groaned.

"No! I would not marry her!"

"Why are you two in a relationship if you're not planning on getting married?" Kling asked innocently. Christen watched as Kelley's face was practically boiling. She knew that she should stop them, but sometimes it was kind of funny to watch Kelley get all worked up.

"I'm not fucking dating -" Kelley began but was cut off by the sound of Emily's voice.

"Guys, that's enough." Emily declared with a sense of finality. The head of every girl in the room whipped around to face her where she was still leaning against the door frame, arms crossed.

"What?" Julie and Christen ended up asking at the same time.

"Shit, we're sorry Sonnett." Rapinoe apologized, forgetting all about her popsicle.

"Just stop teasing her, okay? Sonnett uncrossed her arms and Christen watched as her posture became much more vulnerable. Her eyes cut across to Kelley as her voice got quieter. "She clearly wants nothing to do with me and you're obviously pissing her off, so just cut it out." As Sonnett turned and started to walk back towards the bedroom, all of the girls began apologizing at the same time.

"Sorry Sonnett. We'll seriously stop, promise!" Kling called after her.

"Yeah we didn't mean anything by it!" Morgan added but Sonnett was already in the bedroom with the door closed. All eyes turned towards Kelley.

"I'm gonna go talk to her." Kelley put her popsicle down on the counter and quickly jogged down the hall and slipped into the bedroom. The rest of the girls sat around the great room looking back and forth between each other.

"What was that about?" Julie finally broke the silence.

"I feel bad." Lindsey said and a couple of the girls nodded in agreement. "We were just joking around. Sonnett usually plays along."

"Yeah, we didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings." Morgan mentioned. Christen looked over to see Julie standing up from her place on the couch.

"I'm sure it's fine." Christen began. "Let's just give them some time to talk before we go in there, Jules." Julie looked back and nodded, though Christen could see the worry etched into her face.

"Good idea." 

\- 

It was early Monday morning, just a few hours before Session One would officially start. Christen had been lying awake, tossing and turning, for almost an hour when she finally decided to get out of bed and start her day off with some yoga to rid herself of her nerves. She snuck quietly out of bed and quickly changed into a pair of yoga pants and a sports bra, pulling a zip up hoodie on over it. As she was bending over to lace her tennis shoes, she felt Emily moving around on the top bunk. She looked up to see the blonde looking down at her.

"Hey, sorry I didn't mean to wake you." Christen whispered.

"I was already awake." Christen chuckled to herself at Emily's inability to speak quietly. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to do some yoga." Christen finished lacing her shoes then stood up so she was almost face to face with the younger girl. "Do you want to come?"

"No, that's okay."

"Are you sure? It's very relaxing. It's the best way to relieve stress and...tension." Christen offered, trying not to make it too obvious that she was referring to last night.

"Nah, I'll just stay here." Emily declined as she rolled over to face the wall. "Have fun though." She called over her shoulder.

"See you later, Emily."

"Later." She once again called over her shoulder without even looking back.

Christen couldn't help but feel bad for the girl. She knew that a lot of what happens between Emily and Kelley can be considered a joke, but it's also painfully obvious that Emily has real feelings for the older girl. Christen wondered if she should bother talking to Kelley about the situation. Does Kelley actually have feelings for Emily as well, or is she as uninterested in the situation as she makes it seem? There was only one way to find out the answers to those questions but Christen decided to wait and deal with that later.

She quickly grabbed her yoga mat and snuck out of the cabin, hoping no one else would wake up. She walked outside and turned to look at the beach. She always loved doing yoga on the beach, but she also knew a lot of the girls enjoyed running on the beach when they first woke up. She needed her peace and quiet. As she turned around hoping a different area would catch her eye, she heard a voice that was quickly becoming familiar to her.

"Hey, striker."

Christen turned to see Tobin standing on the porch next to her cabin, just a few yards away. She was leaning against the rail of the porch, reaching back with one hand to grab her ankle, stretching out her quads. "Oh, morning Tobin. Why are you up so early?" She asked, making her way over to the other cabin.

"Couldn't sleep." Tobin shrugged and dropped her foot, quickly replacing it with the other. "I'm too excited to get this session started. I'm going for a run to get rid of some excess energy. What about you?"

"I'm going to do some yoga." Christen answered, holding up her yoga mat.

"Ah, I should've known you were the yoga type." Tobin grinned and dropped her foot again.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Christen asked, trying to figure out if it was an insult or not. Tobin made her way down off the porch, towards Christen.

"Vegetarian, shy, not to mention you were sitting in the middle of the pitch with your eyes closed the first time I saw you." Tobin answered, still grinning. "I should've known." Christen laughed at her answer.

"Well when you put it like that, yeah you really should have known." Tobin shrugged and the two girls laughed. "Hey," Christen started once the laughter had died down. "Do you know anywhere I could go to do yoga? I was thinking about the beach, but I need my privacy and I feel like that won't be very private soon when the rest of the girls start waking up."

Tobin thought for a second, then it was like a lightbulb went off in her head. "I think I know of a place. Follow me." She said then quickly turned and began making her way towards one of the trails that Christen hadn't been down yet.

Tobin led Christen up the trail that was closest to the beach. At some point, the trail started going up and to the right, but instead of leading to the beach, they were getting higher and higher up the bluffs. After a few minutes of walking, Tobin veered off to the right and climbed around a couple small rocks, finally coming to a stop on a large, flat rock overlooking the bluff. The view was phenomenal. Christen climbed down next to Tobin and saw that she could see both cabins far off to the right, along with the entire lake out in front of her. It was exactly what she was looking for.

"Holy shit, this place is perfect." Christen put her yoga mat down and stepped a little bit closer to the edge to enjoy the view even more. Tobin stepped up beside her.

"Me, Allie, and Alex used to come here all the time when we were campers." Christen looked over to see Tobin grinning. "We'd sneak alcohol over here and get drunk on the weekends and spy on the coaches."

"Seriously?" Christen asked and Tobin nodded. "You don't seem like the juvenile delinquent type."

"I'm an enigma." Tobin shrugged and smiled at the younger girl. Christen chuckled a bit.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Do you need anything else before I head out?" Tobin asked as she made her way back up to the trail.

"No, I think I'm all set." Christen responded and Tobin nodded.

"Cool cool cool. When you leave, just remember to stay left at any fork you come to. It's not hard to get back to camp." Christen smiled over at Tobin after she unrolled her mat.

"I can do that. Thanks, Tobin."

Tobin nodded and began making her way down the trail. "No problem. See ya." She called over her shoulder before she was out of sight.

Christen unzipped her jacket and pulled it off then sat down on her mat, crossing her legs and taking a deep breath. As soon as Tobin walked away, she felt her nerves getting the best of her again. 

\- 

"Hey CP." Julie greeted her as she walked back into their room after a long hour of yoga and meditating. "Where've you been?"

Christen pulled her jacket off again and kicked her shoes off and under her bed. "I was doing some yoga. I got really nervous about Session One starting but the yoga helped." Christen explained as she rifled through her neatly folded clothes, looking for something to wear for the rest of the day.

"That's good then." Julie said from her place on her bed where she was busy pulling her hair back into a tight ponytail. "I always get a little nervous before each session too. Just don't let the nerves cloud the excitement." Christen considered Julie's advice as she sat down on her bed, dropping her stack of clean clothes on the mattress next to her.

"I'll try not to, but you know me." Christen shrugged and Julie smiled.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I'll do my best to help you out." Julie said as she fixed her head wrap, then turned to look at Christen. "I was about to head to the mess hall for breakfast, do you want me to wait for you?"

"No, I'm just going to take a quick shower then head that way myself." Christen answered then stood up, grabbing her clothes. "Just save me a seat if you have to."

"Will do. See you in a bit!" Julie called as she made her way out of the room. 

\- 

"I'm not saying that you meant to start a fire, I'm just saying that it happened." Christen sat down in the empty seat next to Julie's in the mess hall. She quickly realized that Emily and Kelley were arguing about something, as usual. She looked around, wondering where Julie had gone but didn't see the blonde anywhere.

"It was not a fire! There was barely any smoke." Kelley shot back at the younger girl. Christen resigned to just eat her breakfast and enjoy the free entertainment in front of her.

"The smoke alarm went off with 15 seconds!" Emily practically yelled. Christen laughed to herself watching the argument play out.

"That doesn't mean I'm not a good cook!" Kelley shot back.

"That's exactly what that means!" Emily was almost out of her seat she was getting so worked up.

"What brought this up?" Julie said quietly to Christen as she sat down next to her, making Christen jump a little bit. She turned to face the blonde.

"Okay, so I think Kell must have said something about wanting to cook. And Sonnett decided to shut that idea down real quick because of some small fire last year? I'm not 100% sure." Christen giggled as she turned back to the arguing duo.

"Hey, striker." Christen jumped again when she felt Tobin sit down on her other side.

She turned to see Tobin clad in the same clothes she was wearing that morning. Just a pair of shorts and a tank top. Why did something so simple could look so good on her? "Oh, hey Tobin."

Tobin turned to look at Emily and Kelley who were basically in an all-out shouting competition at this point. "Um..."

"Oh, you can just ignore them." Christen waved them off then took a bite of her oatmeal.

"What are they arguing about?" Tobin asked as she placed her banana on the table.

"Kell said something about cooking tonight and Emily is just not about to let that happen." Christen shrugged and took a sip of her chocolate milk. The sound of Tobin's quiet chuckle was like music to her ears.

"Lover's quarrel, I guess?" Tobin asked and Christen laughed to herself.

"Something like that." Christen turned to look around at the other tables in the mess hall. "Where are Alex and Allie?" She asked after she noticed they weren't around.

"They're already at the pitch." Tobin replied, tapping the tip of her banana on the table. "I just came to get a snack. Speaking of which, what's that over there?" Tobin asked, pointing off to the left with her banana. Christen swung her head around to see what the older girl was pointing at.

"What? Where?" She turned back to look at Tobin who was now biting into an apple while grinning. Christen looked down at her tray to see a banana laying where her apple had just been. "Did you just steal my apple?" She asked incredulously.

"Yup. I'm not a huge fan of bananas." Tobin shrugged as she took another bite.

"And you think I am?" Christen asked while Tobin just laughed. "Okay, whatever. Why don't you just head on over to the pitch now and let me eat the rest of my food in peace." Tobin laughed again as she stood up.

"Okay, I'll do that." She said while walking away backwards.

"And enjoy my apple!" Christen called after the girl as she turned and began making her way out of the mess hall.

"I will!" Tobin called over her shoulder, holding the apple up quickly then taking another bite as she pushed open the doors and left.

Christen rolled her eyes and laughed then took another bite of her oatmeal. She turned to see Julie raising an eyebrow at her. "What?" She asked innocently.

"What did your girlfriend want?" Julie asked and Christen rolled her eyes again.

"Jules..."

"Sorry, sorry. What did Tooobin want?" The blonde corrected herself.

"I don't know. Just stopping by to say hi, I guess." Christen mumbled as she stirred her spoon around the oatmeal.

"Mhm. Interesting." Julie said making Christen groan.

"Shut up, Jules." 

-

Christen spent the next few hours in a constant state of awe. She mostly watched as all of her fellow coaches flowed together smoothly like a well-oiled machine. With this being the first day, the majority of the training session was spent getting a feel for the camper's physical abilities and trying to figure out which campers would go to which positions, since most 10 and 11 year olds aren't 100% what position they're going to play for the rest of their career.

Christen was bewildered to see Tobin interacting with the children. The professional soccer player was running around constantly, hands in the air, always yelling something at someone, putting a smile on everyone's faces and letting her laughter fill the air. She watched as, on multiple occasions, Tobin would take the time to sit with different girls who were obviously nervous or scared. Within minutes, she'd have each girl laughing and excited to get their camp experience started. Christen couldn't help but wish she had the personality or likability that Tobin had.

After about 5 hours, which was a relatively short training session seeing as it was just the first day, the coaches wrapped everything up and sent the girls back to their side of the camp. Christen quickly sat down where she was standing on the pitch and began trying to pull her boots off without even untying the laces. She realized her mistake and began picking at the laces as Alex walked up and took a seat next to her.

"Hey newbie." Alex greeted her as she sat down and tossed her boots on the grass next to her. "How'd you enjoy your first training session?"

"It was a lot of fun." Cristen answered, finally pulling one of her boots off and already feeling herself relax exponentially. "You, Sydney, and Crystal really seem to know what you're doing." She pointed out as she began working on her other boot.

"Oh, Syd and I have been here for years. And Crys picked it all up really quickly last year." Christen nodded as she pulled her other boot off and pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. "You're gonna pick it up super quickly as well, I can already tell." Alex smiled and nudged Christen's shoulder with her own. Christen chuckled a bit.

"Yeah, fingers crossed. I'm not as good with the kids as you guys are though. I'm just too awkward." Alex laughed at Christen's response as the two girls watched their fellow coaches winding down around them. Christen was sure to note that her three roommates were already heading back to the cabins with the other defenders.

"Well, none of us are great with the kids." Alex said, pulling Christen back into the conversation. "Except for Tobin, but that's because she's a kid too." Alex and Christen both laughed. "You just have to treat them like they're adults, ya know? Like, I get that some of these girls are only 10 years old but that doesn't mean they want to be treated like babies. You don't have to dumb anything down unless they ask you to. Even these younger kids are going to want to be treated like they're adults." Alex explained and Christen felt herself nodding.

"I get that. I guess it's actually just hard for me to deal with anyone, whether they're children or not." Christen laughed again at her self deprecating joke and watched as Alex chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"Oh hush. You're fine." Alex nudged her again. They both looked up to see Sydney approaching them barefoot.

"Did you invite her?" Sydney asked, directed towards Alex.

"Oh yeah!" Alex snapped her fingers then quickly turned to face Christen. "Okay so our cabin is going to hang out on the beach tonight. We like to pretend like it's recovery, but really it's just fun and games in the water. You're totally welcome to come."

"Yeah, I think the girls in your cabin usually just relax inside the first night and have a movie night or something like that, but if you'd rather come to the beach you totally can." Sydney added. Christen did remember Kelley saying something about a movie night.

"Okay, cool. I'll keep that in mind." Christen answered and watched as Alex quickly hopped up to her feet and grabbed her boots.

"Great! Well, we'll either see you later or tomorrow!" Alex and Sydney both waved as they scampered off in the direction of the cabins.

Christen looked over to see Tobin and Becky gathering all the equipment left on the field. Christen couldn't help but smile to herself at the sight of Tobin. She was barefoot, with her shin guards stuffed in the waist band of her shorts, she had a training jacket tied around her neck like a cape, the laces of her boots were tied together and slung over her shoulder with socks hanging out of each one. Christen took one last look at the girl then gathered her belongs and slowly made her way towards the cabins and all the rest of the girls. 

\- 

Christen took a second to take in the scene around her. Every girl from her cabin had crammed into the living room for a movie night. Christen found herself in her favorite spot, the corner of the sectional couch, while the other coaches were getting comfy around her. To her left on the short side of the couch was Kelley and Emily. They weren't quite cuddling, but if one of them suddenly sneezed, Christen was sure they'd end up on top of each other. To her right was Kling, Morgan, and Lindsey. Julie and Rapinoe had both claimed spots on the floor, where they threw a huge pile of pillows and blankets and seemed to be the most comfortable out of anyone.

"My favorite's Gouda!" Rapinoe said loudly in unison with the movie they were watching. Kling threw a pillow down at her from her spot on the couch.

"Meg, you do not have to quote every single sentence of the movie." Kling reminded her. "We've all seen She's The Man just as many times as you."

"Then why don't any of you guys quote it with me?!" Rapinoe questioned.

"Because we're not assholes and we want to let everyone watch the movie?" Lindsey answered. Rapinoe grabbed her chest, pretending that she'd just been shot.

"You wound me!" Her head quickly whipped around to face the other side of the room. "Oh, hey Tobin!" She greeted the girl that no one else had noticed had just walked in.

"Hey, don't let me distract you guys from your movie. I'm just stopping by for a minute." Rapinoe nodded and all of the girls turned back to watch the movie, except Christen. Christen watched as Tobin made eye contact with her, then made her way over to where she was sitting. The older girl rested her arms on the back of the couch and leaned down close to Christen's ear. "Hey, striker." Christen could hear the smile in the girls voice.

"Hey, why aren't you out on the beach?" Christen whispered.

"Well, I was, but then I was recruited to come in here and see if you wanted to come out for a little while? We were going to play 4 v 4 real quick but Ali has a skype date with her brother so we're a man down." Tobin answered.

"That's surprisingly tempting, but..." Christen tapped her finger on her chin to make it look like she was really considering the offer.

"But..." Tobin echoed. Christen grinned.

"What if I told you that She's The Man is my all time favorite movie?" Christen answered and Tobin's face broke out into a smile.

"Doesn't that mean you've probably seen it 50 times?" Tobin asked, still smiling.

"Mmm, probably." Christen shrugged. Tobin huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Fine, enjoy your movie. I guess I'll just have to play so well that I seem like two people." Tobin said and Christen had to stifle her laughter around the rest of the girls who were trying to pay attention to the movie.

"Hey, I do feel like you have four legs sometimes. If that counts for anything?" Christen offered and Tobin rolled her eyes again.

"It doesn't, but thank you anyway." Tobin stood and began making her way back towards the door.

"Have fun!" Christen whispered loudly. Tobin waved her hand in the air and quickly made her way out the door.

Christen turned back to face the movie, unable to wipe the smile off her face. She could feel a pair of eyes on her. She looked slightly to her left where she saw Kelley raising an eyebrow in her direction. Christen rolled her eyes and nodded towards the screen, silently asking Kelley to drop it and just watch the movie. As soon as Kelley's attention was off her, Christen couldn't help but let the smile return to her face. 

\- 

Christen woke up the next morning and didn't hesitate to get out of bed and get dressed so she could start her yoga session. She pulled on her yoga pants, her sports bra, and a thin jacket, not bothering to zip it up because she knew she'd be taking it off in just a few minutes. She quickly grabbed her yoga mat and quietly made her way out of the cabin. As soon as she closed the door behind her she looked over to see Tobin stretching in between the two cabins. Tobin was wearing a tight Nike tank top, US Soccer shorts, and Nike running shoes. Christen rolled her eyes thinking about how Tobin could be wearing literally anything and she'd still start drooling over it.

"Morning, striker." Tobin greeted her with a smile as her brown eyes raked up and down Christen's body. The younger girl had to will herself not to blush at the obvious display.

"Hey, how was the pick-up game?" Christen asked as she walked up next to Tobin and leaned against the railing next to her cabin. Tobin's grin grew even larger.

"My team of 3 kicked the other team's ass." Tobin announced proudly and Christen couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well, I expected no less." Christen responded as she watched Tobin stand up once she finished that set of stretches.

"I meant to ask you how your first day went yesterday?" The older girl asked as she stood up and began stretching her quads. Christen shrugged before responding.

"It went about as well as I assumed it would. I still have to work through some nerves and get used to everything but I'm definitely enjoying myself." Christen explained and Tobin nodded.

"Well, that's what really matters, right?" Tobin asked and Christen grinned and nodded her head. "You going up to the bluff?" Tobin nodded towards Christen's yoga mat.

"Yeah, I'll probably be doing yoga up there every single morning from now on to be honest." Tobin laughed.

"Makes sense."

Christen began backing away, about to make her way up to her spot on the bluff. "Enjoy your run." She said before turning around.

"Enjoy your yoga." Tobin said before thinking for a second and calling after her again. "Oh, and can you get an orange instead of an apple at breakfast today? Thanks so much!" Christen turned and gave the older girl the middle finger before laughing.

"I can't stand you!" Christen called out to her. Tobin made a heart with her hands before Christen laughed and turned back in the direction on the trail. 

\- 

Christen enjoyed the last few days of her first week. With each day that passed, she felt more and more comfortable. She was getting used to the young girls and was finally able to coach them instead of just silently letting the other three forwards do all the work. She was also getting close with a few of the young girls that she was relating to. There was a group of girls who were all quiet and shy that Christen kept feeling herself be drawn to. She was enjoying watching those girls come out of their shells just as much as she was.

After the first week of Session One was over, Christen found herself sitting on the first row of the bleachers next to the pitch. Her boots were still on and she was still fairly out of breath when her three roommates came and sat down next to her.

"So, how was your first week?" Kelley asked then squirted some water into her mouth.

"Not too bad." Christen answered then grabbed the squeeze bottle out of Kelley's hand, squeezing some water into her own mouth. She swallowed then laughed a bit. "I think I'm a little out of shape though." The other girls laughed as well.

"I think we all are." Emily said in the midst of their laughter.

"I feel like I should be doing some exercises on my own just to keep up with all those kids." Christen said as she passed the squeeze bottle over to Emily who had been motioning for it.

"God, they have so much energy." Julie said as she pulled her pre-wrap off and tried to smooth her hair back. "The older kids are definitely more tame, don't worry." She assured her friend.

"Oh, thank god." Christen responded and the three girls laughed again.

"So, are we still having the tournament tonight?" Emily asked once their giggles had subsided.

"We better be." Kelley answered. "I have to kick yours and Morgan's ass again."

"Again?! As if that's ever happened!" Emily said, getting worked up quickly. Christen almost laughed at how similar her personality was to Kelley's.

"You guys get way too into FIFA." Julie said as she rolled her eyes and stood up, placing one foot on the bleachers to start unlacing her boot.

"You -" Kelley started, pointing at Julie. "are only saying that because you suck at it." Julie shrugged and pulled her boot off then moved on to the next one.

"Well, I don't suck at FIFA." Christen said, garnering the attention of Kelley and Emily. "And I still think you guys get way too into it." Emily quickly stood up and hopped off the second row of bleachers where she had been sitting. She placed her hand on Kelley's shoulder.

"Psh, come on Kell. We don't need this!" Kelley quickly stood up next to her.

"You're right! We'll see you titty babies back at the cabin." Kelley said, eyeing Christen and Julie both. Julie laughed as she pulled her other boot off and began walking after the two girls before noticing that Christen wasn't following.

"You coming, CP?" She called back to her.

"I'll be there in a few." Christen answered. "I'm gonna take a few shots on goal before I head back." She explained as she picked up a ball. Julie nodded.

"Want me to stay?"

"No, no." Christen shook her head. "Go ahead so you guys can take your showers and I don't have to wait." Julie nodded and turned back to make her way towards the cabin.

Christen walked out to the far goal. She placed the soccer ball on the penalty mark and took a few steps back, lining up her shot. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, envisioning a goalkeeper in the middle of the goal, taking up at least 20% of the area she had to shoot at. She knew that the goalkeeper could move right or left, but would have to move so quickly that they would only be able to cover a low arc to the ground. In order to take a safe shot, she'd have to aim for one of the upper corners. It was rare that any goalkeeper could save those shots from their starting spot in the middle of the goal. Christen took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She opened her eyes and immediately focused on the ball on the ground in front of her. She imagined a whistle, then she took a few quick steps and swung her leg down, making contact with the ball and sending a rocket exactly where she didn’t want it to go. The center of the net. She knew it as soon as she hit it. That ball would've been saved.

"Fuck." She cursed under her breath then grabbed the ball again, placing it back on the mark. "Let's try that again." She mumbled as she took a few steps back and closed her eyes again.

Christen continued taking shots until she was out of breath and couldn't focus anymore. Granted, it only took about an hour for that to happen, but it was still longer than she meant to stay. She gathered the soccer ball out of the back of the net one last time then sat it on the ground, sitting on top of it so she could unlace her boots. Once she had her boots off, she looked up to see Tobin leaning against the fence on the side of the pitch.

"How long have you been watching?" Christen called out to her as she picked the ball up and headed over towards the equipment building. She watched as Tobin grinned and shrugged.

"Long enough to know that I'm really glad we never played Stanford while I was in college." Christen rolled her eyes at Tobin's answer but couldn't stop herself from smiling.

"Oh, shut up." She mumbled as she made her way past the older girl. She felt Tobin turn and follow right behind her.

"Do you have plans tonight?" Tobin asked as Christen opened the door to the equipment building and placed the ball down on the ground next to the door. She turned the lights off and shut the door before turning back to face Tobin.

"Not exactly." She answered before she began walking again, this time in the direction of the cabins. Once again Tobin was right on her heels. "The rest of the girls are going to have a FIFA tournament so I was going to spend my night making fun of them" She explained.

"While that sounds like so much fun, I think you should bail and come with us." Tobin responded.

"Who's us?" Christen said as she had a hard time focus on anything other than the pain she was feeling on the bottoms of her feet from walking on the rocky trail back to the cabins. She had done this multiple times and kept swearing to herself that she wouldn't take her boots off until she got past the trail, but she was just too impatient.

"Allie, Alex, Syd, their boyfriends, Ash, and Ali. They have a couple's night every Friday and they drag me along because they know if I don't come to dinner then I'll starve to death without any of them around to cook for me."

"Dear god, are you really that helpless?" Christen asked as she turned back to see Tobin with a wide grin on her face.

"Oh yeah, it's pretty bad." Christen couldn't help but chuckle at the girl's response.

"So..." Christen turned and began walking again. "You're inviting me to a couple's night?"

"I am."

"And you realize what that implies, right?" Christen raised an eyebrow at Tobin over her shoulder. She watched Tobin shrug and just keep grinning.

"I'm aware of the implications of my invitation." Tobin answered and Christen snorted at the professionalism of the response. "Regardless, we're going to get dinner then they'll probably all go to a movie or something like that. I usually just go to dinner then head back to the cabin, but we can really do whatever."

"Aren't we all going out tomorrow as well?"

"Saturday's are the nights all of us go to a bar or club. Everybody gets drunk. Sometimes the boys camp coaches come, sometimes it's just us." Tobin explained and Christen nodded letting the older girl know she was listening. "Friday nights we don't get drunk though. Just a relaxing night out on the town."

Christen stopped walking once they got to the end of the trail, before they walked out into the clearing. Tobin almost ran right into her because she stopped so abruptly. "I might actually take you up on that offer. I'm getting sick of the microwavable meals we've been having for the last week." Tobin's grin grew larger.

"Well the meal tonight will be far from microwavable."

"That's what I'm hoping for." Christen winked, catching Tobin off guard. "Maybe the company won't be so bad either." Christen turned to keep walking towards her cabin and Tobin laughed behind her.

"That's debatable." she said, still laughing. Christen just shrugged.

"What time are you guys leaving?"

"Probably around six. You can ride with me." Tobin offered and Christen nodded.

"Great. I'll get showered and ready and I'll see you around six."

"Sounds good. See ya soon, striker." Tobin grinned as she watched Christen make her way into her cabin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops i disappeared for a few months i guess. oh well, here's this. enjoy me cramming more and more dialogue down your throat ~


	5. The First Weekend

Christen calmly walked into her cabin and into her room. She saw Julie and Kelley laying on Kelley's bed, looking at something on an iPad. Christen strolled over to her bed and placed her boots on the floor next to it. She grabbed her toiletries and a towel and walked quietly into the bathroom. As soon as she made it into the bathroom and looked up at herself in the mirror, she released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding and her heart rate immediately spiked. 

"Jules! Come here!" She yelled while gripping the edge of the counter so hard her knuckles were turning white. Julie must have noted the worrying tone of her voice because she made her way into the bathroom in record time. 

"What?" Julie asked quickly, looking over Christen's sweaty body wondering if she had hurt herself. "What is it?!" Christen reached around her friend and shut the door, immediately receiving a groan from Kelley who had made her way to the other side of the door. 

"Secrets don't make friends, they break them!" Kelley called out and Christen rolled her eyes. 

"Shut up, Kell!" She responded then turned her attention back to Julie. "Tobin invited me to couple's night." She rushed out quickly and watched as Julie's mouth hung wide open. 

"What?!" Julie practically yelled. 

"Hey, if you're going to hide something from me at least don't yell about it!" Kelley called out again and this time it was Julie's turn to roll her eyes. 

"Shut up, Kell!" Julie shouted through the door before turning back to Christen with her mouth still wide open. "So is this like a date, or what?"  

"I mean, I don't know." Christen shrugged and pulled herself up to sit on the counter. "She didn't exactly say it was a date, but I gave her a chance to say it wasn't a date and she definitely didn't do that either." Christen explained and Julie nodded along. 

"I really have to pee guys." Kelley sounded like she was putting her mouth right against the door frame to say this.  

"Shut up, Kell!" Christen and Julie said in unison before breaking out into fits of giggles. 

"Sheesh, I'll just go to the other bathroom." Kelley said, her voice getting further and further away. 

Once Julie stopped laughing, she pulled herself up on the counter next to Christen. "Do you want it to be a date?" She asked and Christen groaned, placing her face in her hands. 

"God Jules, I don't know." She mumbled from behind hands then lowered them. "I don't even want to think of that right now." Julie raised an eyebrow. 

"If you didn't come to me so I could help you figure out if this is a date or not, then what do you need?" Julie asked and Christen just responded by giving her her best puppy dog face. "Oh, you need help choosing what to wear." Christen quickly nodded. 

"Yes please. I have no idea where we're going to get dinner or how far we'll be walking or anything like that. Please help." Christen had her hands together like she was praying for Julie's help, which only made the blonde start laughing again. 

"Fine, I'll start going through our options. You shower, when you're done, you can pick from a few different outfits I'll have ready. Deal?" Julie said while she hopped off of the counter and opened the bathroom door. Christen nodded enthusiastically. 

"Deal!" 

 

-

 

"Hey striker, you look great." Christen couldn't stop herself from grinning as she joined Tobin and Ali standing next to Tobin's SUV. She knew immediately that she needed to thank Julie when she got home later for choosing her outfit. Granted, it was just a pair of tight black jeans and a gray crop top, but she never would have been able to pick it on her own. She quickly took note of what Tobin was wearing, loose fitting jeans and a baseball tee, before responding. 

"You don't look so bad yourself." She said while knocking elbows with Tobin, earning a grin from the older girl. Christen quickly turned her attention to Ali who thankfully wasn't paying much attention to the interaction. "Hey, Ali." 

"Hi, Christen." Ali greeted her with a smile before turning back to look at the cabins. "Ash should be here any second then we can get out of here." Right as she said that, Ashlyn came bounding out of their cabin. 

"Speak of the devil..." Tobin laughed to herself as Ashlyn finally made it out to the parking lot where the other three were waiting.  

"I'm here!" She said as she stopped next to Ali, out of breath. "I found my watch, we can go now." She said, holding her wrist up in the air for all to see. Tobin laughed and reached over to open her passenger door, gesturing for Christen to climb in, which she did with a smile on her face. 

"Where was it?" Ali questioned as she and Ashlyn climbed into the backseat and Tobin ran around the front of the vehicle to get in her seat. 

"Under your bed." Tobin snorted and Ashlyn glared at her through the rearview mirror. "Don't do that. It's a watch, not a bra. I have no idea how it ended up there." 

"I wasn't going to say anything." Tobin said while still laughing.  

"Yeah, yeah. Shut up and drive, Heath." Tobin grinned back at her friend then cranked the car, quickly making her way out of the parking lot. 

"Do you know where we're eating dinner?" Christen asked as Tobin fidgeted with the radio settings. 

"Yeah, we're going to this Italian restaurant that just popped up in town." She midfielder answered as she finally decided on a radio station. 

"Is it not the one we went to last summer?" Ali asked. Christen glanced back to see Ashlyn's arm around Ali's shoulders. She quickly turned back to look out in front of her. She couldn't help but find herself wishing she had something like that. 

"We didn't go to any Italian restaurants last summer, baby." Ashlyn responded. 

"Yes, we did." Ali argued. "There was one Italian restaurant that we went to once. I remember it because they burned the garlic bread." Tobin laughed and nodded. 

"Yeah, that's not this restaurant though. Alex said this one has only been open for a few months and has been getting really good reviews on facebook. Nobody has mentioned any burnt garlic bread." Tobin drummed her fingers along the steering wheel to the beat of the song while she responded to Ali. 

"Oh, thank god." Christen said. 

"If they burn my garlic bread, I'm out." Ali grumbled and Christen nodded her head in solidarity. 

I'm with you on that one." She replied and turned around to give Ali a quick high five. 

"Do you even need garlic bread, babe?" Ashlyn asked and Christen watched Ali's mood shift immediately. The brunette looked over at her girlfriend incredulously. 

"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked and Christen heard Tobin groan next to her. She looked over to see Tobin rubbing her temple with her hand. 

"Here we go..." Tobin mumbled under her breath. 

"Nothing! Nothing, I just wasn't sure if you were eating carbs or not." Ashlyn tried to remedy the situation but Christen could tell that Ali just was not having it. 

"I'm going to an Italian restaurant, I'm obviously eating carbs." Ali crossed her arms and Christen looked over to see Tobin holding back laughter. 

Tobin leaned over and began talking quietly. "They're going to be arguing about this for the rest of the night. Remind me not to sit next to them at the restaurant." Christen laughed a bit and nodded in agreement. 

"No problem." 

 

-

 

"Christen, you made it!" Alex squealed and greeted Christen with a hug as soon as the group of four walked into the restaurant and up to the table. Christen couldn't help but laugh nervously at the reception. 

"Of course. I'm not going to pass up an actual meal." Alex laughed at her response then sat back down in her seat. Tobin pulled a chair out for Christen then sat down in the seat next to hers. 

"Sup, guys." Tobin greeted the group at the table. 

"How's it going, Tobin?" Dom said, reaching across the table to give Tobin a bro handshake of some sort.  

"Hey, Tobes." Servando greeted from his place at the head of the table next to Alex.  

"It's about time you guys got here." Bati noted as he made eye contact with the waitress and let her know the rest of the party had arrived. She quickly made her way over to the side of the table where Tobin, Christen, Ali, and Ashlyn had sat down.  

"Welcome, ladies. What can I get the four of you to drink?" She asked politely. Ali and Ashlyn quickly told her what they wanted while Tobin leaned over to Christen. 

"Do you like red wine?" She asked quietly and Christen nodded. 

"Of course I do." Christen answered and Tobin grinned. 

"Tight." Tobin then turned her attention to the waitress. "We'll both have the Cabernet Sauvignon." The waitress nodded. 

"Great. I'll be right back with those." The waitress promptly made her way back to get the girls drinks.  

"So, Christen," The forward turned her attention to Servando at the sound of her name. "How are you enjoying camp so far?" He questioned. 

"It's already been so much fun." Christen replied, a grin forming on her face. "The girls we have this session are wearing me out but my roommates assured me the older girls won't be anywhere near as wild." 

"That's true." Sydney agreed from her seat across from Christen. "Session two will be a lot more physical work but also a lot less chasing kids around." 

"And I will be fine with that." Christen laughed. 

"I always enjoy session one." Christen looked over at Tobin who was already ripping up her napkin as she spoke. Christen could tell that the older girl really didn't enjoy not having a ball with her based on how much she fidgeted when her ball wasn't around. "The young kids are so much fun. They still play soccer because they enjoy it, not because their parents want them to or because they need to get a scholarship or they want to go pro and get paid. It's still fun for them, ya know?" Tobin looked up at Christen to gauge her reaction, and she nodded. 

"Tobe, you enjoy session one because you get to hang out with all the kids who are the same age as you." Alex corrected her earning a laugh from the rest of the group. 

"Yeah, ya little ten year old." Allie said, reaching over to muss up Tobin's hair a bit before Tobin swatted her hand away and rolled her eyes, all with a smile on her face. 

"Not even going to deny it?" Christen asked Tobin and she just shook her head. 

"Nope." Tobin replied, popping the p. "I've accepted it at this point." She shrugged and reached forward to grab a slice of garlic bread. 

 

-

 

"Honestly, I'm just glad they didn't burn the garlic bread." Ali pointed out as she sipped on her remaining wine. 

"Oh my god, right? Remember that place last summer?" Allie asked and everyone groaned or rolled their eyes. 

"I was so ready to just bounce if they had brought out burnt bread. I was dreading it." Christen added and everyone agreed. Christen felt Tobin lean a little bit closer. 

"Well, I'm glad they cooked their bread to the correct temperature." Tobin said quietly and Christen tried desperately not to blush. 

"Right then, which movie are we going to see?" As the rest of the group piped up and tried to decide on a movie, Tobin stayed close to Christen and spoke just loud enough for her to hear. 

"Do you want to go to the movie? I usually bail on that part of the night." Christen quickly nodded then realized that wasn't a very clear answer. 

"We can bail." She concluded and Tobin grinned. 

"Cool." The older girl quickly turned back to the rest of the group who were still trying to decide on a movie. "Okay guys, it's the time of the night when I make my exit. Press and I are going to head back to camp." Tobin said as she and Christen stood up from their chairs.  

"Okay, be safe!" Alex said. 

"Let us know when you get back!" Allie added as the two girls began to leave the table. 

"Okay, moms." Tobin called over her shoulder, earning a few laughs from the group. 

 

-

 

Once the two girls made it out of the restaurant, they began walking down the sidewalk to where Tobin had parked her vehicle. Before they reached the vehicle, Tobin stopped walking and turned to Christen who also stopped walking after taking a few more steps. 

"Actually, do you want to walk around for a bit before we head back?" Tobin asked and Christen nodded. 

"Sounds good to me. The weather is perfect tonight." The two girls turned the corner that led them in the opposite direction of Tobin's car.

After walking side by side, silently, for almost a block, Tobin finally spoke up.  "My friends really like you." Christen grinned at the admission. 

"Yeah?" 

"Yeah. Anytime we do anything, they're always trying to get me to invite you." Christen laughed at the midfielder's confession. "I keep trying to tell them that you're probably getting overwhelmed because you have your own stuff to do with your own cabin but they never listen. They're just like 'Go get Press!'"  

"Oh, so they're the only reason you invite me to do anything? I got it." Christen joked and Tobin rolled her eyes while grinning at the younger girl. 

"Stop it. You know that's not what I meant." Tobin said, nudging her shoulder a bit with her own. 

"I know, I know. Just teasing." Christen reassured her as they fell back into a comfortable silence. Once they reached the end of the next block, it was Christen's turn to speak up. "I'm glad your friends like me." 

"I wish your friends liked me as well." Tobin responded and Christen looked over at her. "Or I at least wish they didn't hate me." 

"What?" Christen asked, shocked. "My friends don't hate you." She tried to convince her but she could tell it wasn't quite working. 

"Your three roommates do." 

"That's not true, Tobin." Christen argued, earning a chuckle and an eye roll from the girl next to her. 

"Hey, it's fine. You don't have to lie for them." Christen was about to respond but Tobin quickly cut her off. "I've heard them talking about me, Allie, and Alex over the last few summers." She explained, effectively shutting Christen up for a few moments until she came up with a way to respond. 

"If my friends hated you, I wouldn't be here right now. And Julie wouldn't have helped me get ready for tonight. And Kelley and Emily wouldn't be spending every night trying to convince me to hook up with you." Tobin immediately stopped walking, grabbing Christen's arm to make her stop walking as well. 

"They're trying to convince you to do what now?" Christen laughed and rolled her eyes as she turned and continued walking. It took just a few seconds for Tobin to catch up. 

"All I'm saying is, they don't hate you." She explained. "They just don't know you guys." Tobin snorted and stuffed her hands in her pockets. Christen could feel the sudden tension. 

"That's the problem with pretty much everyone here." Tobin stated, almost angrily. "I mean, Syd has been our fourth since the summer before we all started college. Ali and Ash have been in our cabin since that same year. Pinoe and Kling have been around just as long. But none of them really know us." Tobin released the tension she had been holding, letting her shoulders slump. "They just know what they see." The older girl kicked at a rock that was on the sidewalk. Christen couldn't help but feel for her, knowing exactly what she meant.  

"Well, here I am trying to get to know you." Christen said, knocking her shoulder against Tobin's. "What do you want me to know that I can't see?" Tobin shrugged before answering. 

"I don't know. I guess I want you to know that I don't think I'm better than everyone else." Tobin's voice had gone from angry to almost vulnerable. "I think that's what everyone thinks. They think just because I walk around with a ball constantly, and I'm always doing dumb little tricks, that I'm showing off because I'm better. Because I think I can do it and no one else can. But that's not true." Christen reached out and looped her arm through Tobin's, hoping to give the girl some sort of comfort. 

"Then why do you do it?" She asked and Tobin shrugged again. 

"Because it's fun. That's what this whole summer is for me." Tobin explained. "That's what it's always been. I come here to have fun. I'm not here to get my coaching license, I'm not here to put shit on my resume, I'm just here to have fun before I go back to school or before I start my actual professional career."  

"Don't the three of you take this whole thing super seriously?" Christen asked, thinking back to all of the training plans Alex had written and all of the mornings that the three of them had gone to the pitch earlier than anyone else to help set up and get ready for the day. 

"Of course we do. This is like our second home. We've spent more time here over the last 12 years than we've spent at our actual homes. But that doesn't mean this isn't fun for us." Christen nodded at the explanation. 

"I get that." She said quietly. 

"Nobody else does. They think we're all 'holier than thou' and that we think we can do no wrong. That's not how it is." Tobin made clear and Christen nodded again. 

"I believe you." 

"I'm glad." 

"We should probably head back." Christen said after looking down at her watch to see the time. "I promised Kell that I'd be there to watch her win the FIFA tournament."  

"Alright, no problem." Tobin said, leading them around the corner that would lead back to her car. After a few minutes of silence and with the car a few paces away, Tobin piped up again. "So what's this I hear about your friends trying to convince you to hook up with me? How close are they to convincing you? And can I help in any way?" Christen laughed at Tobin's questions and smacked her on the shoulder, shoving her so that she was walking a few paces ahead of Christen now. 

"You're the worst. Get in the car." She laughed, smacking Tobin's hand away when she tried to open the car door for her. 

 

-

 

Christen and Tobin arrived back at the camp laughing and grinning about some stupid joke Tobin told. They made their way to Christen's cabin arm and arm and gave each other a certain look when they got close enough and heard the yelling and screaming of multiple different girls all at once. Christen took a deep breath and opened the door, leading the older girl inside. Once inside, they found all of the girls from Christen's cabin strewn around the room. Lindsey was the first to notice them from her perch on top of the dining room table. 

"Hey, Press! Hey, Tobin!" She greeted them enthusiastically. 

"CP!" Julie yelled from her spot on the couch. "You're just in time to watch Emily kick Kell's ass. It's 3-0." Christen laughed as she noticed Emily and Kelley both sitting cross legged in front of the tv with controllers in their hands. Emily had a determined look on her face and Kelley just looked pissed. 

"Oh my god, perfect timing." Christen grinned and grabbed Tobin's forearm. "Wanna sit?" Tobin shrugged. 

"Yeah, sure." Christen pulled her around the couch so she could sit in her favorite spot, the corner of the L shaped couch. Tobin sat down next to her. With Christen's legs tucked up under her, and the proximity of Tobin next to her, she couldn't help but let her knees touch Tobin's thighs just a bit and Tobin rested her hand on Christen's knee. She tried not blush at the closeness, then groaned internally because who gets worked up over this tiny bit of contact? When Christen was finally able to focus on what was happening with the rest of the girls, she noted a lot of laughter and a furious Kelley. 

"Everybody, shut up! I'm trying to focus!" Kelley practically yelled, which only elicited more laughter from the girls. 

"And I'm trying to score with my goalkeeper because I've already scored with everyone else, I think." Emily joked. Even Tobin chuckled a bit at that. 

"Fuck off, Sonnett." Kelley grumbled and Emily just grinned. 

"Are they always fighting?" Tobin asked, just loud enough for Christen to hear. 

"Pretty much, yeah." She answered honestly.  

"Tobin, you want in on the tournament?" Kling asked from the other side of the couch. "You can play next against Moe. Winner plays the winner between me and Pinoe."  

"Um, yeah, I'm in." Tobin agreed. "I'm a boss at FIFA though, just warning you." 

"Oh, what are you not a boss at?" Kelley said maliciously and Christen rolled her eyes and placed her hand on top of Tobin's. 

"Ignore her. She's too competitive for her own good." She explained just before Kelley erupted. 

"Fuck!" Kelley yelled, standing up quickly and dropping her controller on the ground with no regard for its well-being. "This isn't over, Sonny." She glared at the younger girl who was simply looking up at her with a blinding smile. 

"Technically, it is. And technically..." Emily stood up next to Kelley before she finished her sentence. "I won." Kelley groaned and shoved Emily out of her way. 

"Whatever." She said as she stomped over to the counter and sat down on a stool facing away from everyone. 

"Aw, don't pout Kell! At least she didn't score with her goalkeeper, right?" Julie called after her, causing the room to break out into fits of laughter. Morgan leaned over to Tobin and handed her the controller Emily had been using. 

"Come on, Tobin. We're up. Pick your team." She said before leaning back into the couch. Tobin nodded and quickly began flipping through the teams. 

"You're on, Brian." 

 

-

 

Christen was focused on watching the game. Of course, Tobin was just as good at FIFA as she was actually playing soccer. Christen wondered to herself if there was anything the girl wasn't good at. She found herself absentmindedly stretching her arm across the back of the couch behind Tobin, and ended up playing with the baby hairs at the base of Tobin's neck. She didn't even realize what she was doing until Tobin leaned over to her without taking her eyes off of the TV. 

"You have to stop doing that." Tobin practically whispered, finally catching Christen's attention. 

"Doing what?" She asked innocently. 

"That. With your hand." Tobin said and Christen realized what she was referring to. That didn't stop her though. "You're distracting me." 

"How is this distracting? I'm just playing with your hair." Christen replied quietly, with a smirk. 

"Any type of physical contact from you is going to be distracting." Tobin clarified and Christen's grin grew. She leaned in even closer to Tobin and spoke even quieter. 

"What if I told you distracting you is my plan?" Tobin's eyes went wide and she immediately hit pause on the game and flew up off of the couch. 

"Saboteur!" She shouted, pointing at Christen who could barely contain her laughter. "She's sabotaging me so Morgan will win! Somebody switch seats with me!" 

"Oh my god, over reaction much?" Christen said between fits of laughter. 

"Kling, switch seats with me." Tobin said forcing Kling out of her seat and over next to Christen. 

"No problem." Kling acquiesced. Tobin sat down on the other side of the couch and leaned forward to make eye contact with Christen. 

"You can't affect me over here anymore, Satan." She said before resuming play on her game. Christen rolled her eyes and laughed again. 

"You're ridiculous."  

 

-

 

The tournament ended an hour or so later with Tobin coming in second place to Sonnett. After everything had wrapped up, Tobin said her goodbyes to the Cabin One girls, then she and Christen made their way outside to stand on the porch. Tobin pulled herself up to sit on the rail and Christen stood next to her. 

"Now see, when you just take the time to hang out with my friends, they really like you." Christen said with a smirk and Tobin laughed. 

"Yeah, I guess I've never really spent much time with any of them. They're super cool. Tobin admitted. 

"Exactly. So instead of just inviting me to everything with your friends, maybe you should hang out with me and my friends sometimes as well." Tobin nodded and grabbed Christen's hand and began playing with her fingers as she spoke. 

"Maybe I should." She said quietly before continuing. "Maybe I should just try to spend as much time with you as possible, in any setting." She grinned down at the younger girl and Christen immediately blushed before regaining her composure. 

"Maybe you should." Tobin hopped down off the rail to stand next to Christen, dropping her hand in the process. 

"You're going out with all of us tomorrow, right?" She asked, changing the subject. 

"Of course." 

"Great. I'll see you tomorrow then, striker." Tobin said as she began backing away from the forward. 

"Goodnight Tobin." Christen said and turned to walk inside, but she was stopped by the sound of Tobin's voice. 

"Oh, and Press?" Tobin said and Christen turned and raised an eyebrow at her. "You should really listen to your friends when they try to convince you to hook up with me. They seem like very smart girls." Tobin grinned and Christen rolled her eyes while laughing. 

"Goodnight, Tobin." She said with a bit more force and Tobin held up her hands in surrender, still grinning. 

"Night, Press." 

 

-

 

The next morning, Christen sat on the porch in a rocking chair with her feet tucked underneath her and a warm cup of coffee in her hands. She had been staring out at the lake, enjoying the light breeze and the sounds of the water when she was brought out of her meditative state by the sound of the door opening and closing to her right. She looked over to see Emily trudging out onto the porch wearing kitten pajama pants and a Fleetwood Mac shirt with a huge rip in the side. Emily immediately climbed on top of the picnic table next to Christen and laid down, closing her eyes. 

"Morning, Emily." Christen grinned, watching the girl as she practically sleepwalked. 

"Mmm." Emily groaned without opening her eyes or mouth.  

"Why did you get out of bed just to come out here and lay down on a far less comfortable surface?" Christen asked and Emily groaned again before answering. 

"JJ's boyfriend called and she sucks at whispering." Emily started her explanation. "She woke Kelley up, who then decided to take a shower. So, of course, she's -" 

"Singing at the top of her lungs." The two girls said at the same time then began laughing. 

"I feel your pain." Christen said once she stopped laughing. The two girls sat there in the silence for a few moments before Emily cleared her throat. 

"Tobin's cool." She said and Christen looked over at her, wondering if she heard her right. 

"What?" 

"Tobin. She's cool. We all had fun hanging out with her last night." Emily clarified and Christen found it hard to keep herself from grinning at the statement. 

"Really?" 

"Yeah." Emily turned her head to look over at Christen, squinting because of the morning sun. "I never really understood why JJ and Kell Bell seemed to dislike the Pro's so much. They never even spent much time with them." She shrugged. "Doesn't make much sense." 

"Yeah, they're all really great." Christen smiled and took a sip of her coffee. "Hopefully Julie and Kelley will be willing to hang out with them at least a little bit." 

"I'm sure they will." Emily said through a yawn. At that moment, Christen heard someone walking up to her left and looked over to see Alex walking towards them. 

"Hey, newbie! Hey, Emily!" She greeted them with a big smile once she made it to the edge of the porch. "Have either of you guys seen Tobin?" Emily shook her head. 

"I've been out here for probably half an hour and I haven't seen her." Christen told her. 

"Shit. She went for a run over an hour ago. She's usually back by now." Alex looked to her right, towards the woods and all of the walking trails. Christen immediately felt herself get worried. 

"Do you need me to help finding her?" She asked, starting to stand up but Alex laughed and shook her head. 

"Nah, she's probably just down at the pitch." She assured the younger girl. "But if you see her in the next little bit, will you let her know that the rest of us are taking the boys to the grocery store? I know she wanted to come but she missed her opportunity." Christen nodded. 

"I'll let her know, no problem." 

"Perfect. Thanks, newbie! See you guys later!" Alex gave a quick wave then bolted in the direction of the parking lot. Christen couldn't help but laugh at her sense of urgency. 

"So are you and Tobin going to hook up?" Emily asked and Christen almost choked on the coffee she had just sipped. She glared at Emily before responding. 

"Are you and Kell?" Emily laughed and shook her head. 

"Totally different situation." The blonde answered and Christen raised an eyebrow at her. "You and Tobin are actually interested in each other. The thing with me and Kelley is totally unrequited." She explained. 

"You really think she doesn't have feelings for you?" Christen asked. Emily took a few seconds to consider the question before answering. 

"I think...I think that if she was drunk enough, and I looked good enough, she'd be willing to make out. I mean I know that." Emily made a face and gestured as if to say that situation had already happened. "But do I think that anything more than that will ever happen between the two of us? Absolutely not." 

"Wait..." Christen said slowly while absorbing what Emily had just said. "Are you telling me that you and Kelley have made out?" Emily laughed at her response. 

"Why must you focus on that part?" At that moment, both girls were startled by the sound of Kelley's booming voice coming from inside the cabin. 

"Jesus Christ! Who the fuck went to the beach?!" Emily looked over at Christen and raised an eyebrow as if to ask if it was her, and Christen shook her head quickly. 

"Wasn't me." Emily nodded and stood from her position on top of the picnic table. 

"Alright. I should probably go calm her down." She took a deep breath and made her way inside as Christen called out after her. 

"Good luck!" 

 

-

 

Christen quickly made her way down to the pitch, trying to convince herself that it was stupid for her to be worried about Tobin. She knew that in just a few moments, she would find Tobin playing with a soccer ball by herself, but she couldn't help but get a little worked up when Alex said she usually would've been home by now. As she got closer to the pitch, she released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding when she heard the sound of Tobin's voice.  

"Tobin Heath jukes past a defender, tip toeing down the touch line, oh what a move!" Christen laughed to herself at the sound of Tobin's voice. She finally made it out of the trees and into the clearing, seeing Tobin running around the pitch with a ball at her feet. Just how she expected to find her. Christen walked quietly over to the bleachers and took a seat, watching Tobin enjoy herself until the older girl finally realized she was being watched. 

"Looking good, Ronaldinho." Christen called out to her as the midfielder kicked the ball up into her hands and made her way towards Christen, grinning widely. 

"He's my favorite, ya know." Tobin responded as she got closer to Christen. 

"Wow, how could I have guessed that?" Christen joked. Tobin laughed as she took a seat on the bleachers next to the younger girl. "Alex was looking for you a few minutes ago. She told me to tell you that your roommates went grocery shopping with the guys. They couldn't wait for you anymore." Tobin furrowed her brows and reached over towards her bag that was on the ground near her. 

"Why didn't she just text me?" She asked, pulling out her phone and unlocking it. "Oh, she did. She also called me a few times. Oops." Tobin shrugged and tossed her phone back on top of her bag, then turned her attention to Christen. "So have you thought anymore about what you're going to do after this summer?" Christen raised an eyebrow. 

"What do you mean?" 

"I mean, are you still planning on joining the family business?" Tobin asked while tossing the soccer ball back and forth between her hands. 

"Yeah, there's nothing really to think about." Christen sighed. "When I leave here, I'm headed right back to LA and getting back to work." Tobin nodded thoughtfully for a moment before responding. 

"I bet you could sign with LAFC." Christen groaned and placed her head in her hands. 

"Tobin." 

"I'm serious." Tobin dropped the soccer ball and turned to face Christen completely before she continued. "I know you withdrew from the draft and everything, but if you want to be based in LA I know they'd still let you sign. You could work your day job or whatever but still make time to play professionally." Christen looked over at the girl. Her excitement was endearing. 

"Tobin, you and I both know that wouldn't work." She argued. "With all the time you have to devote to the game when playing professionally, I'd have no time to do any other job. Let alone help run a corporation." 

"The season is only for a few months, though." Tobin pointed out. 

"But my dad's company is open year round." Christen disputed and Tobin let out a frustrated sigh. 

"I just don't want to see you give up on something you love." She said quietly and Christen rolled her eyes. 

"Tobin, we barely know each other. I don't really think you have the right to dictate the decisions I make." Christen huffed and crossed her arms. 

"I'm not trying to dictate anything!" Tobin threw her hands in the air to feign innocence. "I'm just pointing out that you have options." 

"Hardly." Christen rolled her eyes again. 

"Hey." Tobin placed a gentle hand on Christen's knee, and Christen could feel herself almost instantly melting. "Don't get mad at me, okay? I'm sorry if that came off the wrong way. I'm being genuine here." The older girl apologized and Christen felt her resolve crumbling. 

"I know. I'm sorry." She uncrossed her arms and loosened up her body language just a bit. "It's just a sore subject." 

"I'm sorry for bringing it up. Let's talk about something else." Tobin offered and Christen raised an eyebrow in her direction. 

"Like what?" 

"Like..." Tobin tapped her chin with her forefinger to give the illusion that she was thinking very hard. "Oh! Like, do your friends still think you should hook up with me after they hung out with me last night? Ya know, after getting to know me a little better?" Christen snorted and shoved Tobin's shoulder. 

"I am not answering that question." Christen replied while standing up, getting ready to leave. 

"Ah, come on! I just want to make sure my chances are still good!" Tobin said, clambering to grab her bag and all her belongings so she could follow after Christen who had begun making her way to the trail. 

"My friends and their opinions will have no control over whether or not you and I hook up." Christen called over her shoulder as Tobin ran to catch up with her. 

"Oh, right." Tobin responded while slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Well, what will have control over that? Again, is there anything I can do to help the situation?" Tobin asked with a smirk and Christen rolled her eyes once again. 

"I can not deal with you, Tobin Heath." She said while shoving Tobin again and continuing her trek back towards the cabins. 

 

-

 

"You bitches better not be taking shots without me!" Alex yelled as she walked into Cabin One along with the rest of the girls from her cabin. All of the girls were dressed up and ready to go out for the first time as a group.  

"Oh we would never, your highness!" Pinoe replied as she and Kling poured more shots for the girls who had just arrived, quickly passing them out.  

"Shots all around!" Kelley called out as she handed shot after shot to the girls around her. 

"Okay, ladies." Allie said, raising her shot glass in the air and waiting for everyone to join her. "Here's to our first night out as a group!" 

"And here's to the start of a fucking awesome summer!" Alex added. There was a round of cheers then each girl downed their shots. 

As Christen swallowed the clear liquid, she cringed, remembering just how much she hated the taste of vodka. She placed her shot glass down on the counter and wiped her mouth on the back of her hand, wishing she had some sort of chaser to get the taste out of her mouth. Just when she had decided to search for something else to drink, a new presence at her side stopped her. 

"Hey, striker." Christen turned to her right to see the smirking face of Tobin Heath. "You look nice." Christen quickly looked down at what she was wearing, tight dark blue jeans and a white tank top, and it was once again Julie's choice. Tobin was wearing black jeans and a loose black and white stripe shirt. 

"You can thank Julie for this outfit. She picked it all out." Christen answered honestly, shrugging. "If it were up to me, I'd just be in my normal attire of yoga pants and a sports bra." Tobin raised an eyebrow. 

"Shit, Julie should have let you dress yourself then." She joked and Christen shoved her shoulder playfully. 

"You act as if you don't get to see me wearing that every single day." She reminded the older girl. 

"Oh, I do. It's very distracting." Tobin replied and Christen rolled her eyes while laughing. The two girls noticed the rest of the coaches making their way out of the cabin and towards the parking lot where their Ubers were waiting for them, so they followed suit.  

"Should I start wearing sweatsuits to training?" Christen asked jokingly as they walked, their hands bumping against each other's every few steps. 

"Only if you want to break my heart. And if you break my heart, Alex and Alz are going to be pissed." Tobin nodded towards the two girls who were climbing into a mini van with Sydney. 

"Noted." Christen laughed. 

"CP, come on!" Christen turned to see Emily waving her over towards a large SUV. "We saved you a seat!" 

"Coming!" Christen called out to her before turning back to Tobin. "I'll see you at the bar?" 

"Yup. See you soon." The midfielder responded, giving her a quick wave before she jogged towards the mini van her friends had just climbed into. 

 

-

 

The caravan of Ubers pulled up outside of a dingy bar half an hour later. Christen got out of the SUV with her roommates and looked around at her surroundings. They were in a fairly dilapidated part of town, a few of the store fronts near them were shut down but the bar in front of them seemed to be thriving based on the music and laughter reverberating from the inside.  

"So this isn't exactly what I was expecting, I guess?" Christen said as they made their way through the front doors. The doors opened to reveal a large open room with a bar on both sides and multiple pool tables in the middle. There was even a loft with more pool tables and another bar upstairs. The bar was full and thriving, but it wasn't so busy that Christen couldn't hear herself think like with most bars she had been to. 

"Yeah, this place is kind of a dive bar, but it's tradition for us." Julie shrugged. 

"Apparently the coaches come here the first Saturday night of each session. The other Saturday nights are spent at clubs or where ever, but this is the place we come the most." Emily explained as the rest of their group filtered into the bar around them. 

"Ladies!" An older man with a worn baseball cap and a stained button up shirt came from behind the bar with his arms raised. "Good to see you all again!" All of the girls greeted the man as they came in, some giving him fist bumps, others gave him a high five, Tobin walked past Christen and wrapped the man in a warm hug before walking back towards the back of the bar. " It's been a boring nine months for us here at the pool house." The man said with a grin as he gave Kelley and Emily high fives at the same time. 

"Hey Scotty, this is Christen. She's the only new coach this summer." Kelley nodded towards Christen and she gave the man a blinding smile. 

"Christen! It's lovely to meet ya." Scotty said with a toothy grin. He made his way back behind the bar before saying "Your first drink is on the house, what can I get for ya?" He threw a dirty towel over his shoulder and awaited her response. 

"Um, just a beer? A blonde, if you have it." Scotty grinned and quickly poured her a pint from one of the taps.  

"Here you go." He said, handing it over. "Now you just let me know if you need anything else, alright?" Christen smiled and nodded then turned to make her way through the bar, seeing all of her teammates staking their claims on different pool tables. 

"Christen! Over here!" Christen turned at the sound of her name to see Crystal, Morgan, and Kling sitting at a table with beers and shots in front of them. Crystal pointed to an empty chair next to her which Christen quickly made her way towards.  

"Are you guys not playing pool?" She asked as she sat in the chair.  

"Nope, this is the hangout spot for those of us who suck at pool or just hate playing." Crystal explained with Morgan and Kling nodding along. "I remembered you telling Alex a couple days ago that you were terrible at things like pool and bowling so I figured I'd go ahead and invite you over here." Christen smiled at her explanation. 

"God, thank you. I was worried my roommates were going to force me to play." She laughed. 

"Nah, if you're over here with us then people won't bother you." Morgan replied before taking a sip of her beer. 

"Yup so just relax and enjoy making fun of all the other girls with us." Kling said before spinning her chair slightly to get a better view of the pool tables. 

 

-

 

"Newbie, come over here for a minute!" Christen turned from the conversation she was having with Crystal, Morgan, and Kling to see Alex waving her over to the table she was standing at with Tobin and Allie.  

"Don't do it." Morgan warned her. "As soon as you leave our bubble, they'll try to get you to play." Christen laughed as she stood up.  

"I won't be gone long, just save my seat." She said before making her way over to the pool table. As she walked up, she noticed Tobin standing with her back slightly turned to her, pinching the bridge of her nose. "What's up, guys?" She greeted. 

"We just wanted you to come hang out with us for a little bit!" Allie said, putting her arm around Christen's shoulders. "We missed you!" 

"Yeah, we're going to grab some drinks though." Alex added, quickly pulling Allie away from the confused forward. "Do you guys need anything? You're good? Okay, cool, come on Alz!" Alex said without taking a breath, practically dragging Allie towards the bar on the other side of the room. 

"Jesus christ, do they think they're smooth?" Tobin groaned as she watched them scamper away.  

"Yeah, what just happened?" Christen questioned and finally Tobin turned her full attention to the younger girl.  

"I'm not 100% sure, but I have my assumptions." Tobin took a few steps so she was standing closer to Christen. "I told them I was getting pretty sleepy and might want to head home soon even though they're staying out for another little while. Alex said she didn't want to send me home by myself so they were kind of fighting over who would go with me. Then they saw you and realized you're not even playing and that's when Allie called you over." Christen looked over Tobin's shoulder to see Alex and Allie watching them intently from their place at the bar. 

"So they want me to take you home?" Christen asked, turning her attention back to the midfielder. 

"That's what it seems like." Tobin shrugged. "And while I absolutely would not complain about you taking me home, I don't want you to feel like you have to do that or anything." Christen could tell just by the look on Tobin's face that the poor girl was exhausted. While Christen was having a good time, she just couldn't manage to make herself say no to the girl. 

"When would you be ready to go?" Christen asked, remembering that she was in the middle of a conversation with Crystal, Morgan and Kling before she came over. Tobin shrugged again. 

"I don't know, just whenever. I didn't sleep super well last night so I'm tired and getting cranky, I think." Tobin explained and Christen grinned thinking about a cranky Tobin, since the girl already acted like a ten year old as it is. "I'm not enjoying winning like I usually do, if that tells you anything." Christen laughed and nodded. 

"Well, why don't you come sit over here with us for a little while. We can leave in like 20 minutes?" Christen offered and Tobin looked at her with a shocked face. 

"You're really willing to go home with me?" 

"I mean, yeah." Christen replied. "I'm having a good time but I'm not really doing much of anything. I just want to finish the conversation I was having with the girls then we can get out of here." 

"You're perfect." Tobin said with a grin on her face, making Christen blush immediately. "I'm going to get a glass of water, do you need anything?" She asked and Christen shook her head. 

"I'm fine. I'll be over there once you get it." Christen said, pointing in the direction of the table she had been sitting at all night. 

"Cool." 

 

-

 

"Thanks so much, man. Be safe." Tobin gave a quick fist bump to their Uber driver before climbing out of the car and following Christen across the gravel parking lot. They walked in silence for a few moments before Christen cleared her throat.  

"So why don't you sleep much?" She asked. Tobin shrugged. 

"I don't know." She answered, rubbing the back of her neck. "I always go to sleep normally but then some nights I wake up and just can't fall back asleep. I end up getting bored so I get up and go do something and then I'm exhausted by the next day." She explained further and Christen grinned. 

"I feel like you could remedy that situation by just staying in bed when you wake up." She nudged Tobin's shoulder with her own, playfully. 

"I mean, hypothetically, yeah." Tobin agreed. "But I get way too bored for that. If I'm bored then I get anxious." Christen nodded. 

"I get that." As the two girls reached their destination outside Tobin's cabin, Tobin stopped walking and looked at the younger girl sheepishly. 

"So, I hate to do this, but I'm super exhausted..." She began.  

"You just want to go to sleep?" Christen asked and Tobin raised an eyebrow, nervously. 

"Kinda, yeah. Is that okay? I hate that you came back with me and now I'm just bailing." Christen placed a reassuring hand on Tobin's shoulder and gave her a warm smile. 

"That's fine, Tobin. I promise." Tobin let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "I think I'm going to take a nice long shower then get some rest myself." Christen said, removing her hand from the midfielder's shoulder. 

"Okay, well if you need anything, you know where to find me." Tobin offered as she took a step back towards her cabin. 

"Of course. Goodnight, Tobin." Christen turned to make her way to her own cabin. Grinning as she heard the sound of Tobin's voice behind her. 

"Night, Striker." 

 

-

 

Christen was lying awake in her bed later that night. Her roommates had made it home safe, and drunk, and were now all passed out on Kelley's bed in one big heap of snores. Christen had initially fallen asleep after her shower, but when her roommates came in and decided they didn't know how to whisper, she was rudely awaken and hadn't been able to fall asleep again. Just as she was about to give up and go watch netflix on her computer in the other room, she heard the door from Cabin Two open and close. She quickly sat up and pushed aside the blinds to see Tobin walking away from the cabin towards the pitch with a ball at her feet. 

Christen quickly, but silently, got out of bed and pulled on a pair of sweats, slides, and a zip up hoodie. She made her way out of her bedroom as quietly as possible. As soon as she stepped foot outside of the cabin, she felt herself almost regretting it. It was chilly, and pitch black, and she was about to hike a quarter mile through the woods just to follow some girl who might not even want to see her right now? Great idea. Christen took off down the path that led to the pitch. Within a few minutes, she came to a stop at the clearing when she saw Tobin on the pitch juggling the soccer ball, illuminated only by the moonlight. 

"Tobin?" Christen called out as she made her way around the small set of bleachers and onto the pitch. 

"Press?" Tobin said, turning around and squinting her eyes, trying to see Christen through the darkness. When she finally saw her, a grin made it's way onto her face. "Fancy meeting you out here, for the second time today. Why are you awake?" Christen shrugged and walked closer to Tobin. 

"I couldn't sleep. I heard you leave your cabin and figured I knew where you were going. I was right." Tobin's grin grew as Christen made her way even closer. 

"Being on the pitch calms me down." Tobin explained as she dropped the ball on the grass then sat on top of it. Christen joined her. 

"What's going on that has you so frazzled?" Christen asked as a breeze floated by. She shivered slightly and zipped her jacket up just a bit higher. 

"Frazzled?" Tobin laughed. 

"Hush." Christen shoved her playfully. "Answer the question." Tobin's smile faltered ever so slightly. 

"I don't know." She shrugged and looked down at her bare feet. "A lot, I guess. I mean, of course I'm excited about this summer and I'm just anxious to get this next week started and to see all these girls grow and get better and stronger each week. That's always awesome." Tobin offered up her explanation but Christen wasn't completely buying it. 

"What else?" 

"I'm kinda stressed about what happens after this summer." Tobin mumbled and Christen sighed. 

"You and me both." 

"Yeah, but in a different way." Tobin replied and Christen raised an eyebrow at her, silently asking her to continue. "You're stressed because you know exactly what will happen after the summer and you're not happy about it. I'm stressed because I have absolutely no idea what will happen when I leave camp." Christen had to physically restrain herself from rolling her eyes. 

"You're going to play professionally, Tobin. Obviously." Tobin snorted at her response. 

"Okay, yeah, but I don't know where I'll end up. I have offers from PSG, Lyon, Arsenal, a few different teams in the W League, or if I wait and go through the draft I could end up anywhere in the country. And it's just..." Tobin let out a sigh of frustration. 

"It's a lot." Christen finished for her and Tobin nodded. 

"It really is." Tobin agreed. "So when I start getting stressed out, I just come to the pitch. Just sitting here calms me down."  

"Even at -" Christen glanced down at her watch to see what time it was. "4:00 in the morning?" 

"Even at 4:00 in the morning." Tobin nodded. "I come and sit here and remind myself that no matter where I end up after this summer, I'm going to be playing soccer. I'm going to be doing what I love and that's all that matters." Christen winced at her words and looked down at the grass in front of her. 

"Yeah..." The younger girl agreed, unconvinvingly. Tobin immediately realized her mistake. 

"I'm sorry." Tobin placed a soothing hand on Christen's back. "I didn't mean to..." She began before Christen cut her off. 

"No, it's okay." Christen said, trying to give her a warm smile. "Don't worry about it." Tobin continued rubbing her back for a few more moments before saying anything else. 

"You're going to be okay after this summer, too." The midfielder reassured her quietly. 

"We don't have to talk about it, Tobin." Christen said Tobin nodded. There were a few more moments of silence before Tobin tried again. 

"Alex has been worried about me the last few days. Since I haven't been sleeping and everything." Tobin began. "She told me her secret, ya know, what she does to keep herself so calm all the time." Christen immediately raised an eyebrow at Tobin's choice of words. 

"God, do I even want to know?" Christen asked and Tobin laughed. 

"She said if she starts getting stressed out, she just finds Serv, where ever he may be, and she makes out with him." Tobin explained. "She said 'you can't be stressed out about life when you're attached to another human at the mouth.'" Christen burst into laughter at this explanation and Tobin grinned broadly. 

"So," Christen began after finally stifling her laughter. "Are you going to make out with Serv?" 

"No offense to Servando or Alex, but he is really not my type." Christen began laughing again. "Plus why would I bother walking all the way to the boys camp when I've already got a perfectly viable candidate sitting right next to me?" Christen's eyes went wide at her question. She looked over at Tobin to see her raising an eyebrow, almost as if she was challenging the forward. 

"Tobin..." Christen said before realizing she didn't know what else to say. 

"I'm just offering." Tobin said, holding up her hands in innocence. "Ya know, if you're as curious as I am to see if Alex's method really works." Christen gave the statement some thought before responding. 

"I am pretty curious..." She said quietly and watched as Tobin grinned and moved so she was sitting closer to Christen. Tobin placed her hand on Christen's jaw and started to lean forward, her brown eyes never leaving Christen's green ones.  

"Is this okay?" She asked once their faces were only a couple inches apart. Christen could only nod. Tobin quickly closed the distance between their lips. Christen could feel herself practically shaking with excitement as she sat in the middle of the pitch, kissing Tobin Heath at 4:00 in the morning. After a few seconds, Tobin pulled away, keeping her eyes closed as she leaned her forehead against Christen's. "Okay, so -" She began but was quickly cut off by Christen. 

"Her method works." She concluded and Tobin leaned back as she laughed loudly.  

"Yeah, like, really well." She agreed as they both laughed. Once their laughter had died down, Christen raised an eyebrow at the older girl who was leaning back on her forearms, grinning up at the sky. 

"So are we going to start doing that any time one of us gets stressed out now?" Christen asked and Tobin turned her attention to the younger girl. 

"We probably should." She nodded. 

"Lucky for you, I am just a ball of nerves pretty much constantly." Christen joked as she moved closer to Tobin again. 

"Even right now?" Tobin asked quietly. 

"Especially right now." Christen whispered into Tobin's ear as she straddled her. Tobin leaned forward, chasing Christen's lips with her own. 

"I guess we both know what that means..." 

 

-

 

"Ow, fuck!" Christen scream whispered as she tripped over a shoe and hit her knee on the corner of her bed.  

"Press?" Kelley called out from her position on her bed. At some point, Emily and Julie had both woken up and meandered over to their own beds because Kelley was now alone in hers. 

"Hey, sorry. I tripped." Christen said quietly as she took off her hoodie. "Go back to sleep." 

"What time..." Kelley leaned over to look at her phone and see the time before turning her attention back to the girl in front of her. "Where have you been? It's after 5:00 and when we woke up around 4:00, you weren't in your bed." 

"I couldn't sleep." Christen explained as she pulled her sweats off and replaced them with a pair of Nike shorts. "I went down to the pitch for a little while." 

"By yourself?" Kelley asked as Christen pulled her now messy hair back into a bun on top of her head. 

"Kell, go to sleep before you wake up Jules and Emily. We'll talk about it tomorrow." Christen said then laid down and turned her back to Kelley who was still just as confused as ever. 

"Okay... Goodnight, Press." Kelley said. 

"Goodnight." 

 

-

 

The next evening, Christen sat out on the beach with a book in her lap, unopened. She had ended up sleeping in way too late after she stayed up all night with Tobin, and hadn't been able to do anything productive today. She figured the least she could do was end her day with a little meditation on the beach while enjoying the sunset. She had just closed her eyes to start meditating when she felt a presence plop down next to her in the sand. 

"Hey, striker. Enjoying the sunset?" Christen had to keep herself from grinning at the sound of the voice next to her. She opened one eye and looked over at Tobin to see her in a pair of soccer shorts and a sports bra, sweaty and breathing heavy. 

"Well I was until someone showed up and started talking." Christen joked as she closed both eyes again. 

"Oh, wow. Shots fired, huh?" Tobin laughed. After a few seconds of silence, Tobin scooted a little bit closer to Christen and began talking a little bit quieter. "So about last night..." 

"What about it?" Christen asked, opening her eyes and turning her attention to the girl next to her. 

"Should we, like, talk about it?" Tobin asked, trying not to fall over her own words. "Now that it isn't the middle of the night and we're both thinking a little bit more clearly?" 

"Sure." Christen turned her body completely so she was facing and Tobin. She placed her hands in her lap and took a deep breath. "Let's talk about it." 

"Well, I think it's pretty obvious that I enjoyed it and would be totally down to do that again sometime." Tobin began and Christen grinned. 

"Noted." 

"However..." Tobin looked down at her hands nervously. Christen suddenly became aware that Tobin could very easily confess some type of feelings for her right now, and she was not ready for that. So without letting Tobin get in another word edgewise, Christen decided to make sure the older girl knew exactly where she stood. 

"Let me stop you right there." Christen reached out and grabbed Tobin's hands in her own, placing them back in her lap. "I need you to know that I'm not interested in a relationship of any sort. And no offense at all, but I'm especially not interested in a relationship with someone who could end up in Paris or Australia in just a couple months." Tobin's face fell just slightly at the last statement. 

"I get that." 

"So, if we continue this little thing we've got going on, it needs to be no-strings-attached." Christen said and Tobin immediately nodded. 

"That's actually what I was going to suggest." She explained. 

"Really?" 

"Yeah, for kind of the same reason." Tobin said before adding, "But also because I've never dated before and I don't know why I would start now with a relationship that would have an expiration date."  

"Right." Christen said, trying not to sound too bitter about the term "expiration date." She wasn't sure why that bothered her so much when it was basically the same thing she had just said to Tobin. "So we're on the same page?" 

"I think so." 

"And can we agree that if either of us starts having real feelings or if we start wanting more out of this, then we'll end it?" Christen asked and Tobin nodded once again. 

"Agreed." 

"No harm, no foul." 

"Deal." Both girls grinned. 

"Should we make out again to make it official?" Christen asked as she began to lean in a little closer to Tobin. 

"I mean, we probably should." Tobin said quietly.  

"Tobin??" The girls pulled apart and quickly separated completely at the sound of Alex's voice. Tobin whirled her head around to see Alex walking out of the cabin looking around, obviously having not seen the two on the beach. 

"God da..." Tobin began to curse under her breath. "Down here with Press!" She called out to her friend who then immediately spotted the pair and made her way over towards them. 

"What are you guys up to?" Alex asked as she squatted down in the sand next to the girls. 

"I was watching the sunset until Tobin came to bother me." Christen stuck her tongue out at the midfielder, earning a laugh from Alex. 

"Sounds about right." She chuckled and Tobin pretended to be offended. 

"You guys are assholes."  

"Tobin, let Christen enjoy the sunset." Alex said, standing up. She reached her hands down to help Tobin up as well. "I need you to come with me." 

"Why?" Tobin asked, not yet allowing Alex to help her up. 

"No questions. Come on."  

"Fine." Tobin reluctantly reached out and let Alex help her to her feet. Before following Alex back towards the cabins, she turned back to Christen. "Press, we'll finish this later?" She asked, tossing the younger girl a quick wink. 

"Looking forward to it." Christen replied, grinning from ear to ear. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is like 10k words. that's a lot and next time i could probably cut a lot of the extraneous conversations for the sake of brevity but whatever. enjoy 10k meaningless words :-)


End file.
